Monkeys copy movements like humans do, study suggests
Monkeys, like humans, tend to modify their movements to act in unison with those around them say researchers.
Monkeys unconsciously mimic one another just as humans do says a new study.
Humans tend to modify their movements to mimic those around them from the way they sit to the way they dance.
It turns out that monkeys do the same thing say Japanese researchers at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.
The research is the first time this phenomenon has been noticed in primates, said Red Orbit.
The study trained several monkeys to push a button placed in their holding facility.
Using the button-pushing technique, they placed the monkeys first in front of other monkeys, then in front of monkeys on a video screen and then alone.
The other monkeys were also given buttons and instructed on how to use them.
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The researchers watched to see if the monkeys pushed the button when the others did the same.
They found the Japanese macaque monkeys adjusted their movements to reach synchrony, pushing the buttons when their peers did, said Zee News.
The speed of button pushing increased or decreased depending on the pair of monkeys but were still found to eventually synchronize.
The Daily Mail pointed out that the research could shed light on human diseases like autism and other brain dysfunctions.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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