Cognitive control, also known as executive function, is the set of mental processes that enable individuals to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and manage multiple tasks successfully. Although it has been extensively studied in humans, understanding cognitive control in nonhuman primates provides valuable insights into the evolution and mechanisms of these processes. Such researchers include Robert R. Hampton and Benjamin M. Basile, among other experimentations conducted using rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Hampton Basile’s research has been instrumental in specifying what it is about such monkey brains that makes them so complicated in terms of memory and executive functioning.
Active Cognitive Control of Working Memory
In a seminal study by Basile and Hampton (2013), the researchers tested whether rhesus monkeys demonstrate active cognitive control over working memory. Working memory refers to the system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information necessary for complex tasks. The goal of this study was to test if information could be actively maintained in working memory in monkeys and how concurrent cognitive demands might impact such a process.
The researchers used the matching-to-sample task where an image was a sample, delay followed, then selection of that particular image must be done with several options for it to have matched. Testing for cognitive control was done when the researchers exposed the monkeys to other cognitive operations in the duration of the delay. The authors reported that as long as those additional cognitive activities occurred during delay, the overall performance of monkeys reduced. This is a decrease suggesting that it actively maintained the sample image in the working memory with active cognitive control, and a presentation of alternative tasks tapped monkeys’ scarce sources of cognition. Notably, this was reported for the image, familiar with the observer suggesting that it does not just rest on familiarity and active maintenance should be engaged in. Cognitive Control Hampton Basile‘s work helped to determine some of these mechanisms in rhesus monkeys.
Dissociation Between Working Memory and Familiarity
Brown and Hampton (2020) conducted further research on the distinction between working memory and familiarity-based recognition in rhesus monkeys. Familiarity is the automatic recognition of previously encountered stimuli without conscious recollection of specific details. The experiment sought to determine whether working memory and familiarity are distinct processes and whether they are differentially accessible to cognitive control.
The researchers used a directed forgetting paradigm in which the monkeys were cued to either remember or forget certain images. Under conditions favorable to working memory (small image set), the monkeys performed more accurately following “remember” cues than “forget” cues. However, under conditions favorable to familiarity-based recognition (large image set), the cues had little effect on performance. Results indicate that while working memory in monkeys involves certain cognitive control, familiarity-based recognition makes use of an automatic process with less involvement of control mechanisms. The research led by cognitive control Hampton Basile has helped establish these differences in memory processing.
Neurobiological Correlates of Memory Systems
Understanding the neural underpinnings of these memory systems brings out the complexity in cognitive control. The information now is that different brain regions may be involved with working memory and familiarity-based recognition. For example, familiarity processes have been tied to the perirhinal cortex, whereas prefrontal cortex is viewed as a critical component of information, which is maintained and manipulated by working memory.
Tu, Hampton, and Murray (2011) conducted a study on the impact of the removal of perirhinal cortex on the memory performance of rhesus monkeys. The results showed that removal of the perirhinal cortex impairs the monkeys’ ability to perform tasks based on familiarity but did not affect tasks requiring working memory. This dissociation makes it clear that there are indeed different neural substrates supporting these two memory systems and points out the specific function of the perirhinal cortex in familiarity-based recognition. This line of research, begun by cognitive control Hampton Basile, has continued to advance our knowledge of how different brain regions support executive function and memory in primates.
Implications for the Evolution of Cognitive Control
The research done by cognitive control Hampton Basile has important implications for understanding the evolution of cognitive control. It demonstrates that rhesus monkeys have active cognitive control over their working memory, which suggests that such executive functions may have emerged earlier in the primate lineage than previously believed. The capacity to actively hold and manipulate information would have been adaptive, in that it would have allowed improved problem-solving and decision-making, which are vital for survival in complex environments.
Furthermore, the dissociation between working memory and familiarity-based recognition in monkeys indicates that multiple memory systems with distinct cognitive control mechanisms have been conserved across primate species. This conservation suggests that these systems serve fundamental cognitive functions that have been maintained throughout evolution. The work of cognitive control Hampton Basile has played a critical role in uncovering these evolutionary insights.
Future Directions in Research
However, significant room still exists in which future work can penetrate the mind-brain interface of cognitive control in nonhuman primates. Specific areas to pursue in future research include an investigation of the developmental trajectory of cognitive control in monkeys and how these processes emerge and mature, effects of aging on mechanisms of cognitive control, and possible parallels to human cognitive aging and interventions.
Further research could also look into how social and environmental factors influence the development and expression of cognitive control in nonhuman primates. Understanding how these processes are differentially influenced by contexts informs theories about flexibility and adaptability of cognitive control mechanisms. Research on cognitive control by Hampton Basile continues inspiring further adventures in such directions.
The collaborative research efforts of cognitive control Hampton Basile and their colleagues have significantly advanced our understanding of cognitive control in rhesus monkeys. Their findings demonstrate that monkeys possess active cognitive control over their working memory, distinct from automatic familiarity-based recognition processes. These insights not only inform our understanding of the evolution and mechanisms of cognitive control in primates but provide a comparative framework to examine executive functions across species. Further research along these lines will continue to provide an understanding of the fundamental principles governing cognitive control, with applications in the design of human and animal models of cognition that reflect our understanding of biological processes.
