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- Title
Opinion: Can animals recall the past and plan for the future?
- Authors
Clayton, Nicola S.; Bussey, Timothy J.; Dickinson, Anthony
- Abstract
According to the 'mental time travel hypothesis' animals, unlike humans, cannot mentally travel backwards in time to recollect specific past events (episodic memory) or forwards to anticipate future needs (future planning). Until recently, there was little evidence in animals for either ability. Experiments on memory in food-caching birds, however, question this assumption by showing that western scrub-jays form integrated, flexible, trial-unique memories of what they hid, where and when. Moreover, these birds can adjust their caching behaviour in anticipation of future needs. We suggest that some animals have elements of both episodic-like memory and future planning.
- Publication
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2003, Vol 4, Issue 8, p685
- ISSN
1471-003X
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.1038/nrn1180