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Brain mechanism of foraging: Reward-dependent synaptic plasticity versus neural integration of values
Ist Teil von
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 2024-04, Vol.121 (14), p.e2318521121
Ort / Verlag
United States
Erscheinungsjahr
2024
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
MEDLINE
Beschreibungen/Notizen
During foraging behavior, action values are persistently encoded in neural activity and updated depending on the history of choice outcomes. What is the neural mechanism for action value maintenance and updating? Here, we explore two contrasting network models: synaptic learning of action value versus neural integration. We show that both models can reproduce extant experimental data, but they yield distinct predictions about the underlying biological neural circuits. In particular, the neural integrator model but not the synaptic model requires that reward signals are mediated by neural pools selective for action alternatives and their projections are aligned with linear attractor axes in the valuation system. We demonstrate experimentally observable neural dynamical signatures and feasible perturbations to differentiate the two contrasting scenarios, suggesting that the synaptic model is a more robust candidate mechanism. Overall, this work provides a modeling framework to guide future experimental research on probabilistic foraging.