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Weiss AR, Urbanski HF. Effect of short-term androgen supplementation on cognitive performance in older male rhesus macaques. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 132:246-249. [PMID: 37866084 PMCID: PMC10842314 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Old male rhesus macaques often show cognitive impairment, and also have attenuated circulating levels of testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). However, it is unclear if these age-associated decreases in circulating androgen levels are casually related to mechanisms that support cognition. To test this possibility, old male rhesus macaques were given daily supplements of testosterone and DHEA for ∼7 months, using a paradigm designed to mimic the 24-hour circulating hormone patterns of young adults. Animals completed the Delayed Match-to-Sample (DMS) task to assess recognition, and the Delayed Response (DR) task to assess working memory. The animals all showed significant delay-dependent performance, with longer delays resulting in lower accuracy; and timepoint-dependent performance, showing improvement with the repeated opportunities for practice. However, there were no differences between the androgen supplemented animals and age-matched controls. These data indicate that the specific short-term supplementation paradigm employed here offers no obvious benefits for DMS or DR task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Ruth Weiss
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA.
| | - Henryk Francis Urbanski
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA; Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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Waters SJ, Basile BM, Murray EA. Reevaluating the role of the hippocampus in memory: A meta-analysis of neurotoxic lesion studies in nonhuman primates. Hippocampus 2023; 33:787-807. [PMID: 36649170 PMCID: PMC10213107 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The hippocampus and perirhinal cortex are both broadly implicated in memory; nevertheless, their relative contributions to visual item recognition and location memory remain disputed. Neuropsychological studies in nonhuman primates that examine memory function after selective damage to medial temporal lobe structures report various levels of memory impairment-ranging from minor deficits to profound amnesia. The discrepancies in published findings have complicated efforts to determine the exact magnitude of visual item recognition and location memory impairments following damage to the hippocampus and/or perirhinal cortex. To provide the most accurate estimate to date of the overall effect size, we use meta-analytic techniques on data aggregated from 26 publications that assessed visual item recognition and/or location memory in nonhuman primates with and without selective neurotoxic lesions of the hippocampus or perirhinal cortex. We estimated the overall effect size, evaluated the relation between lesion extent and effect size, and investigated factors that may account for between-study variation. Grouping studies by lesion target and testing method, separate meta-analyses were conducted. One meta-analysis indicated that impairments on tests of visual item recognition were larger after lesions of perirhinal cortex than after lesions of the hippocampus. A separate meta-analysis showed that performance on tests of location memory was severely impaired by lesions of the hippocampus. For the most part, meta-regressions indicated that greater impairment corresponds with greater lesion extent; paradoxically, however, more extensive hippocampal lesions predicted smaller impairments on tests of visual item recognition. We conclude the perirhinal cortex makes a larger contribution than the hippocampus to visual item recognition, and the hippocampus predominately contributes to spatial navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer J. Waters
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda MD 20892, USA
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Benjamin M. Basile
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda MD 20892, USA
- Department of Psychology, Dickinson College, Carlisle PA, USA
| | - Elisabeth A. Murray
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda MD 20892, USA
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Pittet F, Heng V, Atufa J, Bliss-Moreau E. Monkeys do not show sex differences in toy preferences through their individual choices. Biol Sex Differ 2023; 14:3. [PMID: 36737809 PMCID: PMC9898904 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-023-00489-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As interest in evaluating sex differences in nonhuman animals grows, the finding that male and female monkeys have toy preferences that differ, and that parallel those documented in human children, has garnered significant attention and is leveraged as an argument in favor of a biological contribution for human sex differences. To date, however, only two studies have investigated sex differences in monkeys' toy preferences, both documenting that males prefer toys considered to be "masculine" (such as vehicles) and females prefer toys considered to be "feminine" (such as dolls). Monkeys in these studies were tested in their social groups, making it hard to determine if the sex differences reported reflect actual individual preferences or result from social dynamics present at the time of testing. METHOD Here, we assessed the preferences of 14 rhesus macaques (N = 7 males; N = 7 females) who were singly tested in a choice test with a variety of toys characterized as masculine (hard non-zoomorphic wheeled toys), feminine (zoomorphic soft toys), neutral (hard non-zoomorphic toys) and ambiguous (zoomorphic or plush vehicles) based on criteria from previous studies. RESULTS Males and females showed similar preferences for neutral and "masculine" toys and preferred them (i.e., were more likely to interact with them) to "feminine" and sex-ambiguous toys. When they interacted with the toys, both males and females interacted more with neutral than with "masculine" toys. Females, but not males, interacted more with neutral and "masculine" toys than with "feminine" toys. The highest frequency of interaction for any single toy for the male monkeys was with the doll-standing is stark contrast to previous findings. CONCLUSIONS Our results contrast greatly with the previous study in rhesus monkeys, as well as findings in human children, suggesting that the previously documented sex differences are likely context dependent, and question the existence of a strong biological basis to sex differences in toy preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent Pittet
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, County Road 98 at Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA.
| | - Victoria Heng
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, County Road 98 at Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Jala Atufa
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, County Road 98 at Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Eliza Bliss-Moreau
- Neuroscience and Behavior Unit, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, County Road 98 at Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA.
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Neudecker V, Perez-Zoghbi JF, Martin LD, Dissen GA, Grafe MR, Brambrink AM. Astrogliosis in juvenile non-human primates 2 years after infant anaesthesia exposure. Br J Anaesth 2021; 127:447-457. [PMID: 34266661 DOI: 10.1016/j.bja.2021.04.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Infant anaesthesia causes acute brain cell apoptosis, and later in life cognitive deficits and behavioural alterations, in non-human primates (NHPs). Various brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions are characterised by chronic astrocyte activation (astrogliosis). Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte-specific protein, increases during astrogliosis and remains elevated after an injury. Whether infant anaesthesia is associated with a sustained increase in GFAP is unknown. We hypothesised that GFAP is increased in specific brain areas of NHPs 2 yr after infant anaesthesia, consistent with prior injury. METHODS Eight 6-day-old NHPs per group were exposed to 5 h isoflurane once (1×) or three times (3×), or to room air as a control (Ctr). Two years after exposure, their brains were assessed for GFAP density changes in the primary visual cortex (V1), perirhinal cortex (PRC), hippocampal subiculum, amygdala, and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). We also assessed concomitant microglia activation and hippocampal neurogenesis. RESULTS Compared with controls, GFAP densities in V1 were increased in exposed groups (Ctr: 0.208 [0.085-0.427], 1×: 0.313 [0.108-0.533], 3×: 0.389 [0.262-0.652]), whereas the density of activated microglia was unchanged. In addition, GFAP densities were increased in the 3× group in the PRC and the subiculum, and in both exposure groups in the amygdala, but there was no increase in the OFC. There were no differences in hippocampal neurogenesis among groups. CONCLUSIONS Two years after infant anaesthesia, NHPs show increased GFAP without concomitant microglia activation in specific brain areas. These long-lasting structural changes in the brain caused by infant anaesthesia exposure may be associated with functional alterations at this age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viola Neudecker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jose F Perez-Zoghbi
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lauren D Martin
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Gregory A Dissen
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | - Marjorie R Grafe
- Department of Pathology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Ansgar M Brambrink
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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Weiss AR, White J, Richardson R, Bachevalier J. Impaired Cognitive Flexibility After Neonatal Perirhinal Lesions in Rhesus Macaques. Front Syst Neurosci 2019; 13:6. [PMID: 30760985 PMCID: PMC6363703 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2019.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research indicated that monkeys with neonatal perirhinal lesions (Neo-PRh) were impaired on working memory (WM) tasks that generated proactive interference, but performed normally on WM tasks devoid of interference (Weiss et al., 2016). This finding suggested that the early lesions disrupted cognitive processes important for resolving proactive interference, such as behavioral inhibition and cognitive flexibility. To distinguish between these possibilities, the same Neo-PRh monkeys and their controls were tested using the Intradimensional/Extradimensional attentional set-shifting task (Roberts et al., 1988; Dias et al., 1997). Neo-PRh monkeys completed the Simple and Compound Discrimination stages, the Intradimensional Shift stage, and all Reversal stages comparably to controls, but made significantly more errors on the Extradimensional Shift stage of the task. These data indicate that impaired cognitive flexibility was the likely source of increased perseverative errors made by Neo-PRh monkeys when performing WM tasks, rather than impaired behavioral inhibition, and imply that the perirhinal cortex and its interactions with the PFC may play a unique and critical role in the development of attentional set shifting abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison R Weiss
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.,Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, OR, United States
| | - Jessica White
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | | | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States.,Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Weiss AR, Guo W, Richardson R, Bachevalier J. Intact perceptual ability, but impaired familiarity judgment, after neonatal perirhinal lesions in rhesus macaques. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 28:54-64. [PMID: 29175539 PMCID: PMC5737963 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2017] [Revised: 10/15/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The perirhinal cortex is known to support high-level perceptual abilities as well as familiarity judgments that may affect recognition memory. We tested whether poor perceptual abilities or a loss of familiarity judgment contributed to the recognition memory impairments reported earlier in monkeys with PRh lesions received in infancy (Neo-PRh) (Weiss and Bachevalier, 2016; Zeamer et al., 2015). Perceptual abilities were assessed using a version of the Visual Paired Comparison task with black&white (B&W) stimuli, and familiarity judgments were assessed using the Constant Negative task requiring repeated familiarization exposures. Adult monkeys with Neo-PRh lesions were able to recognize B&W stimuli after short delays, suggesting that their perceptual abilities were within the range of control animals. However, the same Neo-PRh monkeys were slower to acquire the Constant Negative task, requiring more exposures to objects before judging them as familiar compared to control animals. Taken together, the data help to account for the differential patterns of functional compensation on previously reported recognition tasks following neonatal versus adult-onset PRh lesions, and provide further support to the view that the PRh is involved in familiarity processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Wendi Guo
- Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322 USA
| | | | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322 USA; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, 30329 USA
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Ahlgrim NS, Raper J, Johnson E, Bachevalier J. Neonatal perirhinal cortex lesions impair monkeys' ability to modulate their emotional responses. Behav Neurosci 2017; 131:359-71. [PMID: 28956946 PMCID: PMC5675115 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is a collection of brain regions best known for their role in perception, memory, and emotional behavior. Within the MTL, the perirhinal cortex (PRh) plays a critical role in perceptual representation and recognition memory, although its contribution to emotional regulation is still debated. Here, rhesus monkeys with neonatal perirhinal lesions (Neo-PRh) and controls (Neo-C) were tested on the Human Intruder (HI) task at 2 months, 4.5 months, and 5 years of age to assess the role of the PRh in the development of emotional behaviors. The HI task presents a tiered social threat to which typically developing animals modulate their emotional responses according to the level of threat. Unlike animals with neonatal amygdala or hippocampal lesions, Neo-PRh animals were not broadly hyper- or hyporesponsive to the threat presented by the HI task as compared with controls. Instead, Neo-PRh animals displayed an impaired ability to modulate their freezing and anxiety-like behavioral responses according to the varying levels of threat. Impaired transmission of perceptual representation generated by the PRh to the amygdala and hippocampus may explain the animals' inability to appropriately assess and react to complex social stimuli. Neo-PRh animals also displayed fewer hostile behaviors in infancy and more coo vocalizations in adulthood. Neither stress-reactive nor basal cortisol levels were affected by the Neo-PRh lesions. Overall, these results suggest that the PRh is indirectly involved in the expression of emotional behavior and that effects of Neo-PRh lesions are dissociable from neonatal lesions to other temporal lobe structures. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan S. Ahlgrim
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta GA
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta GA
| | - Jessica Raper
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta GA
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta GA
| | - Emily Johnson
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta GA
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta GA
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta GA
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta GA
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Basile BM, Karaskiewicz CL, Fiuzat EC, Malkova L, Murray EA. MRI Overestimates Excitotoxic Amygdala Lesion Damage in Rhesus Monkeys. Front Integr Neurosci 2017. [PMID: 28642691 PMCID: PMC5462941 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2017.00012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Selective, fiber-sparing excitotoxic lesions are a state-of-the-art tool for determining the causal contributions of different brain areas to behavior. For nonhuman primates especially, it is advantageous to keep subjects with high-quality lesions alive and contributing to science for many years. However, this requires the ability to estimate lesion extent accurately. Previous research has shown that in vivo T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accurately estimates damage following selective ibotenic acid lesions of the hippocampus. Here, we show that the same does not apply to lesions of the amygdala. Across 19 hemispheres from 13 rhesus monkeys, MRI assessment consistently overestimated amygdala damage as assessed by microscopic examination of Nissl-stained histological material. Two outliers suggested a linear relation for lower damage levels, and values of unintended amygdala damage from a previous study fell directly on that regression line, demonstrating that T2 hypersignal accurately predicts damage levels below 50%. For unintended damage, MRI estimates correlated with histological assessment for entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex and hippocampus, though MRI significantly overestimated the extent of that damage in all structures. Nevertheless, ibotenic acid injections routinely produced extensive intentional amygdala damage with minimal unintended damage to surrounding structures, validating the general success of the technique. The field will benefit from more research into in vivo lesion assessment techniques, and additional evaluation of the accuracy of MRI assessment in different brain areas. For now, in vivo MRI assessment of ibotenic acid lesions of the amygdala can be used to confirm successful injections, but MRI estimates of lesion extent should be interpreted with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Basile
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Chloe L Karaskiewicz
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Emily C Fiuzat
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Ludise Malkova
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Georgetown University Medical CenterWashington, DC, United States
| | - Elisabeth A Murray
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Bethesda, MD, United States
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Weiss AR, Nadji R, Bachevalier J. Neonatal Perirhinal Lesions in Rhesus Macaques Alter Performance on Working Memory Tasks with High Proactive Interference. Front Syst Neurosci 2016; 9:179. [PMID: 26778978 PMCID: PMC4700260 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2015.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The lateral prefrontal cortex is known for its contribution to working memory (WM) processes in both humans and animals. Yet, recent studies indicate that the prefrontal cortex is part of a broader network of interconnected brain areas involved in WM. Within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures, the perirhinal cortex, which has extensive direct interactions with the lateral and orbital prefrontal cortex, is required to form active/flexible representations of familiar objects. However, its participation in WM processes has not be fully explored. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of neonatal perirhinal lesions on maintenance and monitoring WM processes. As adults, animals with neonatal perirhinal lesions and their matched controls were tested in three object-based (non-spatial) WM tasks that tapped different WM processing domains, e.g., maintenance only (Session-unique Delayed-nonmatching-to Sample, SU-DNMS), and maintenance and monitoring (Object-Self-Order, OBJ-SO; Serial Order Memory Task, SOMT). Neonatal perirhinal lesions transiently impaired the acquisition of SU-DNMS at a short (5 s) delay, but not when re-tested with a longer delay (30 s). The same neonatal lesions severely impacted acquisition of OBJ-SO task, and the impairment was characterized by a sharp increase in perseverative errors. By contrast, neonatal perirhinal lesion spared the ability to monitor the temporal order of items in WM as measured by the SOMT. Contrary to the SU-DNMS and OBJ-SO, which re-use the same stimuli across trials and thus produce proactive interference, the SOMT uses novel objects on each trial and is devoid of interference. Therefore, the impairment of monkeys with neonatal perirhinal lesions on SU-DNMS and OBJ-SO tasks is likely to be caused by an inability to solve working memory tasks with high proactive interference. The sparing of performance on the SOMT demonstrates that neonatal perirhinal lesions do not alter working memory processes per se but rather impact processes modulating impulse control and/or behavioral flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ryhan Nadji
- Department of Psychology, Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Department of Psychology, Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA, USA
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research CenterAtlanta, GA, USA
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