Memory is always vulnerable to loss because it fades over time. To avoid the potential loss of a particular memory, individuals who can anticipate this loss might seek an opportunity to re-encode the information at the later point. Evidence shows that animals engage in online memory monitoring, but few studies have addressed whether they seek information prospectively to guard against potential forgetting. In the present study, to address this issue three capuchin monkeys were tested using a delayed matching-to-sample task with a cue signaling delay length (short or long). In the tests, subjects could choose at the onset of the delay whether or not to seek a re-presentation of a sample after the delay. Results showed that two monkeys sought re-presentation in the long delay more frequently than in the short delay, suggesting knowledge of the necessity of re-presentation based on knowing the length of the delay. However, further tests provided no evidence that this response was based on metacognitive cues. Whether capuchin monkeys are capable of prospective information-seeking for own potential forgetting remains to be established.

中文翻译：

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卷尾猴 (Sapajus apella) 未能在计算机化任务中寻找可能遗忘的信息

记忆总是容易丢失，因为它会随着时间的推移而消失。为了避免特定记忆的潜在丢失，可以预见这种丢失的人可能会寻求机会在以后重新编码信息。有证据表明，动物会进行在线记忆监测，但很少有研究探讨它们是否会前瞻性地寻找信息以防止潜在的遗忘。在本研究中，为了解决这个问题，使用具有提示信号延迟长度（短或长）的延迟匹配样本任务测试了三只卷尾猴。在测试中，受试者可以在延迟开始时选择是否在延迟后重新呈现样本。结果表明，两只猴子在长延迟中比在短延迟中更频繁地寻求重新呈现，建议基于知道延迟长度的重新呈现的必要性的知识。然而，进一步的测试没有提供证据表明这种反应是基于元认知线索的。卷尾猴是否能够为自己潜在的遗忘能力进行前瞻性信息搜索仍有待确定。