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Motor planning in primates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Daniel J. Weiss
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Program in Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. djw21@psu.edu
Kate M. Chapman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. kmc385@psu.edu
Jason D. Wark
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106. jason.wark@case.edu
David A. Rosenbaum
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. dar12@psu.edu

Abstract

Vaesen asks whether goal maintenance and planning ahead are critical for innovative tool use. We suggest that these aptitudes may have an evolutionary foundation in motor planning abilities that span all primate species. Anticipatory effects evidenced in the reaching behaviors of lemurs, tamarins, and rhesus monkeys similarly bear on the evolutionary origins of foresight as it pertains to tool use.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

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