Blog #4: "Monkey in the Mirror" (Bio News Article)

With the help of head implants, an experimental group of Rhesus monkeys were able to develop some form of self-awareness, where they were able to examine themselves and their hard-to-see body parts on a mirror. This is also proven to be effective on other animals, though it wouldn't work well with colored marks, only head implants. With colored marks, the monkeys weren't able to notice them and actually became aggressive with its own reflection, thinking it's another monkey. There is a conclusion that the monkeys probably are only able to develop their self-awareness by seeing and feeling the implant on their head. Further research found that the monkeys would touch and groom the area around the implant if a mirror is present at the cage, though will not attempt to do so when the mirror was covered.

A picture of one of the monkeys inspecting himself.