Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Tracking Sugar-Elicited Local Searching Behavior in Drosophila
03:53

Tracking Sugar-Elicited Local Searching Behavior in Drosophila

Published on: November 17, 2023

Neuronal basis of sequential foraging decisions in a patchy environment.

Benjamin Y Hayden1, John M Pearson, Michael L Platt

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. benhayden@gmail.com

Nature Neuroscience
|June 7, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Scientists discovered that neurons in the primate dorsal anterior cingulate cortex signal the value of leaving a depleting resource. This finding advances understanding of foraging decisions and neural mechanisms.

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Estimation of neuronal tuning for word meaning from passively recorded naturalistic speech.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

A <i>number simplex</i> in the human medial temporal lobe.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Shared neural geometries for bilingual semantic representations in human hippocampal neurons.

Cell·2026
Same author

Human neuronal firing varies with the frequency of local field potential oscillations.

PLoS biology·2026
Same author

Age and early life adversity shape heterogeneity of the epigenome across tissues in macaques.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Plasticity and language in the anaesthetized human hippocampus.

Nature·2026

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Ecology
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Patch-leaving decisions are fundamental across species.
  • The neural basis for these decisions is currently unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying patch-leaving decisions in primates.
  • Identify neural signals related to the value of exploiting new resources versus staying with depleting ones.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neuronal activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex of primates (Macaca mulatta).
  • Analyzed neural responses in relation to sequential decisions to stay or leave a resource patch.
  • Correlated neural firing thresholds with varying travel times to new resources.

Main Results:

More Related Videos

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae
07:26

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Published on: April 23, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Tracking Sugar-Elicited Local Searching Behavior in Drosophila
03:53

Tracking Sugar-Elicited Local Searching Behavior in Drosophila

Published on: November 17, 2023

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae
07:26

Foraging Path-length Protocol for Drosophila melanogaster Larvae

Published on: April 23, 2016

  • Neurons in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex encode a decision variable for patch-leaving.
  • Neural responses reached a fixed threshold for patch-leaving, modulated by travel time.
  • Increased travel times decreased the value of staying and raised the patch-leaving threshold.

Conclusions:

  • The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex plays a crucial role in mediating foraging decisions.
  • Neural modulations observed align closely with behavioral patch-leaving choices.
  • Findings support integrating neuroscience and ecological foraging theory.