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Journalism of Courage
Monkeys may have reasoning abilities similar to primitive humans to put themselves in another8217;s shoes,a new study has found.
Researchers found that intelligent animals such as apes can intuit others8217; intentions,suggesting they have some theory of mind capability.
However,only humans can reason that others may not hold their own beliefs,8217;New Scientist8217; reported.
Rogier Mars of the University of Oxford and colleagues scanned 36 people8217;s brains in order to study this difference.
Using an algorithm,researchers created a map of how an area associated with theory of mind is connected to brain regions linked to abilities such as face recognition and interpretation.
They scanned 12 macaque brains for a similar pattern of connections. An area involved in facial recognition had a similar pattern,suggesting involvement in abstract thought.
Mars said that,however,doesn8217;t necessarily mean the structures share a function.
Theory of mind is probably a spectrum of ways of thinking,he said,adding,humans got better at it as they evolved.
The structural differences may tell us why non-human primates lack the ability to think about others8217; beliefs,Laurie Santos of Yale University said.
