Abstract: Inhibitory control is a high-order cognitive ability which is to inhibit the interferential prepotent response in order to achieve a specific goal. Researches on inhibitory control in non-human primate are reviewed in three aspects: behavioral performance, neural mechanisms, as well as ontogenetic and phylogenic process of it. This paper should provide better understanding of inhibitory control in humans in an evolutionary perspective.

Key words: inhibitory control, non-human primate, preservation error, prefrontal cortex