Episodic memory: what can animals remember about their past?
Abstract
The question of whether episodic memory, the ability to recall unique, personal experiences, is restricted to humans is a matter of current controversy. Recent work on food-storing jays suggests that several features of episodic memory may not be as exclusive to humans as previously thought. In this review we outline the critical features of episodic memory in humans, its relationship to declarative memory, and recent results revealing that jays can learn to perform a task that depends on certain features of episodic memory and can thus be considered 'episodic-like'. Finally, we compare this avian performance with a contemporary definition of human episodic memory and consider the implications for studies of hippocampal function and animal cognition.
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It is potentially impossible to establish if non-human animals have true, conscious episodic memory.
“However, as evidence for conscious episodic recall in humans is centred around language-based reports, and with there being no widely accepted non-linguistic markers of consciousness [51], it is potentially impossible to establish if non-human animals have true, conscious episodic memory.”
From Is episodic-like memory <i>like</i> episodic memory? (2024) · cites this paper as [51]
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“Rather than focusing on phenomenological aspects of memory, it is possible instead to consider episodic memory as simply combining memory for what happened, when it happened, and where it happened [91].”
- Authors
- Griffiths, D., Dickinson, A., & Clayton, N.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Davis (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Griffiths, Daniel
- Dickinson, Anthony
- Clayton, Nicola
- Venue
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-02
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 74-80
- ISSN
- 1364-6613 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2065450906
- Cited by
- 228
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 1.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Trends in Cognitive Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- episodic memory, episodic-like memory, avian cognition, declarative memory, hippocampal function, animal cognition, comparative cognition
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