Marmosets as a next-generation model of comparative cognition

Common marmosets have traditionally been used in fields such as comparative psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and ethology, and as animal models of human disease research because of their relatively small body size, high reproductive rate, similar breeding system characteristics to those of humans, high dependency on vocal communication, and behavioral effects from drug administration that resemble those of humans. Although the animal has proved to be quite advantageous in animal model research in comparison to rodents, and has specific ecological and evolutionary characteristics that are worthy of exploration, few attempts have been made until recently to combine both types of approach. Thus, supported by neuroscientific methodologies that have recently been developed using this species, the authors suggest that the evolutionary origins of cognitive and social functions common to or differentiated in primates, could be uncovered through research that explores the behavioral and neural bases of cognition in the marmosets.