F = ma. Is the macaque brain Newtonian?

ABSTRACT

Intuitive Physics, the ability to anticipate how the physical events involving mass objects unfold in time and space, is a central component of intelligent systems. Intuitive physics is a promising tool for gaining insight into mechanisms that generalize across species because both humans and non-human primates are subject to the same physical constraints when engaging with the environment. Physical reasoning abilities are widely present within the animal kingdom, but monkeys, with acute 3D vision and a high level of dexterity, appreciate and manipulate the physical world in much the same way humans do.

KEYWORDS:

• Intuitive physics
• physics engine
• monkey fMRI
• primate cognition
• gravity

Acknowledgements

The non-human primate experiments reported in the article were performed in the Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University during the first author’s postdoctoral training. The experimental research was supported by NSF Award # 1231216 (A Center for Brains, Minds and Machines: the Science and the Technology of Intelligence) and The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation postdoctoral fellowship.