Like most toddlers, Keeli and Ivy enjoy socializing with friends and learning their ABCs. However, a 1 percent genetic difference makes them students of the Ohio State University Chimpanzee Center.

Chimpanzees Keeli and Ivy are learning to process information in a sequence and make multiple responses, said Sally Boysen, professor of psychology at OSU and director of the center, 6089 Godown Rd.

“I am interested in seeing if what we did over the past few years – when they were younger, and as early training for putting things in sequence – is going to have an effect on their ability to combine words, once they have a broader vocabulary,” Boysen said.

Keeli and Ivy have a limited vocabulary, but over the next two years they will learn at a faster pace and will expand their vocabulary, Boysen said.

As a result of previous work in teaching chimps number sequences and how to count, Boysen said she knew Keeli and Ivy were capable of processing information.

Keeli and Ivy used a computer touch frame system to learn a sequence of letters that had no meaning. After they understood the concept of sequencing, Boysen added simple three-letter words, such as cat, pop, car and key.

The chimps were initially spelling out the words, which was a slow task, she said.

“We didn’t get the sense they really understood why they were doing this, so we decided to switch to whole words and put those on the keyboard,” Boysen said. “They really started catching on. It was a real breakthrough for them to be able to see whole words.”

Boysen said she will still use the word construction because it is important to make a template for putting words in order.

Keeli’s and Ivy’s vocabulary will be expanded to include colors, attributions – such as” big” and “small,” and relational terms – such as “in,” “out” and “over.” Once Keeli and Ivy have a broader vocabulary, Boysen plans to add verbs to their vocabulary, which are harder to understand because they are more abstract.

This is the first time chimps are creating symbols. The sequential processing is very difficult for non-human animals, she said.

Boysen said she hopes to teach the chimps symbols for emotions and words for various emotional states. She would like to be able to show a videotape of Sheba, an older chimp, upset about something, and Abby, her cagemate, coming to comfort her.

“It would be interesting to get a chimp to comment using emotional terms to represent the mental state of the other animal” she said. “I think they are capable of it, but you need some kind of shared symbol system.”

Carmen Owens, a research associate and the full-time teacher for the nine chimpanzees, works with the chimps twice a day concentrating on the functional use of language.

For each trial the chimps accomplish a task by using only one of three provided tools, she said.

For example, a juice container is locked inside a box. The chimps must decide what tool will unlock the box. In another trial, the chimps use an acrylic stick to reach for a treat, such as pudding or peanut butter.

While taking a primate behavior course offered through the anthropology department, Owens heard about the Chimpanzee Center and volunteered during her senior year.

Working at the center is both physically and emotionally intensive because she gives so much attention and positive reinforcement while teaching the chimps, Owens said.

“My favorite time of the day is after dinner while everyone is relaxing because I get to hang out and socialize with these amazing animals,” Owens said. “The fact I have been here long enough to develop a relationship with them and have them respect me as a teacher to the point that we accomplish things together is amazing.”

The center is a modified research center that provides an adequate place for the chimp’s care and treatment, but the staff would like to build an environment in which the chimps can live together in groups and interact more, said Gerri Bain, director of development for the College of Biological Sciences. It would also be easier to observe what the chimps are doing as a way to continue cognitive research in a much more natural setting.

OSU selected the center as a development project where students and the public could have better access to the facility, Bain said. It is the mission of OSU to help people learn and observe the chimps in such a unique facility.

“Ideally, it would be nice to have it (the new center) off main campus in one of the adjoining counties because of the size of the land,” Bain said.