Rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex Continuously Signals Decision Variables in a Patch Foraging Task.

Autor:	Kane GA; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 gakane@bu.edu.; Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02155., James MH; Department of Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854.; Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Pisccataway, New Jersey 08854., Shenhav A; Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, & Psychological Sciences and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912., Daw ND; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544., Cohen JD; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544., Aston-Jones G; Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University, Pisccataway, New Jersey 08854.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience [J Neurosci] 2022 Jul 20; Vol. 42 (29), pp. 5730-5744. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 10.
DOI:	10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1940-21.2022
Abstrakt:	In patch foraging tasks, animals must decide whether to remain with a depleting resource or to leave it in search of a potentially better source of reward. In such tasks, animals consistently follow the general predictions of optimal foraging theory (the marginal value theorem; MVT): to leave a patch when the reward rate in the current patch depletes to the average reward rate across patches. Prior studies implicate an important role for the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in foraging decisions based on MVT: within single trials, ACC activity increases immediately preceding foraging decisions, and across trials, these dynamics are modulated as the value of staying in the patch depletes to the average reward rate. Here, we test whether these activity patterns reflect dynamic encoding of decision-variables and whether these signals are directly involved in decision-making. We developed a leaky accumulator model based on the MVT that generates estimates of decision variables within and across trials, and tested model predictions against ACC activity recorded from male rats performing a patch foraging task. Model predicted changes in MVT decision variables closely matched rat ACC activity. Next, we pharmacologically inactivated ACC in male rats to test the contribution of these signals to decision-making. ACC inactivation had a profound effect on rats' foraging decisions and response times (RTs) yet rats still followed the MVT decision rule. These findings indicate that the ACC encodes foraging-related variables for reasons unrelated to patch-leaving decisions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ability to make adaptive patch-foraging decisions, to remain with a depleting resource or search for better alternatives, is critical to animal well-being. Previous studies have found that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity is modulated at different points in the foraging decision process, raising questions about whether the ACC guides ongoing decisions or serves a more general purpose of regulating cognitive control. To investigate the function of the ACC in foraging, the present study developed a dynamic model of behavior and neural activity, and tested model predictions using recordings and inactivation of ACC. Findings revealed that ACC continuously signals decision variables but that these signals are more likely used to monitor and regulate ongoing processes than to guide foraging decisions. (Copyright © 2022 the authors.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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