Abstract
The ability to create an inner representation of a space is crucial for most animal's species, including human. One of the essential parts of this spatial cognition is the ability to perceive and decode geometry of the space.
In previous experiments we demonstrated that macaques are able to orient in a real space according to abstract visual stimuli presented on a computer screen. In the present experiments we focus on detailed analysis of strategy used by monkeys to abstract geometric information about space.
In the present experiment we study how the monkeys perceive the geometrical information shown on the computer screen and how they use this information for orientation in the real space. Presented stimuli were designed as a simple symbolic representation of a "response space" where the subjects choose among the particular separate positions.
Therefore they had to decode the information from one spatial frame and use it for orientation in the other spatial frame. The stimuli provided for orientation were initially designed as a representation of the "response space".
During the experiment we manipulated particular geometrical features of the stimuli to identify which of these features are the most important for representation of the space. We proposed few possible strategies which the monkeys could use for solving the task