Lund University Cognitive Science

A primate research station is a powerful tool for studying the evolution, origin and structure of the human mind. Through comparative studies of our closest genetic relatives, the great apes, light is thrown on our own cognition and psychology.

About

Mapping the mental lives of nonhuman primates is part of the monumental task of defining what it means to be human. Scientists have just completed the sequencing of the great ape genomes. This was the comparably simple part of the task. The present challenge is to translate the found differences into actual behaviour. How are primate minds made? How are human primate minds made? This is what comparative cognitive primatology is about.

Lund University Primate Research Station Furuvik is part of the subdepartment of Cognitive Science (LUCS) at the Department of Philosophy. The station is situated at Furuviksparken outside of Gävle, and is a collaboration between the university and the zoo. It is directed by researchers Mathias Osvath and Tomas Persson. At their webpages you can read descriptions of ongoing research projects. Updates on these will be posted here and on our photo blog and YouTube channel.

At the station we study chimpanzees, sumatran orangutans and white handed gibbons. The animals themselves decide if they want to participate in the experimental situations. We can therefore be confident that the animals are happy with the activities. Hopefully it serves as mental stimulation, which all apes need in captivity. No invasive research is allowed or possible at the station.

By studying cognition in very similar as well as very different systems, comparative research also addresses the question of how certain minds are made in general. The primate research station therefore works in tandem with the corvid cognition station.