Visual Evidence Accumulation Guides Decision-Making in Unrestrained Mice

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Decision-making research
• Animal behavior

Background:

• Precise neural manipulation is key to understanding decision-making circuits.
• Mouse models offer potential for studying visual evidence accumulation, but their strategies are not fully understood.
• Existing tools for neural manipulation in mice need validation for tasks involving visual evidence accumulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize mouse decision-making strategies during visual evidence accumulation.
• To identify and causally link neural circuits involved in visual evidence accumulation.
• To establish the suitability of mice for neural circuit manipulation studies in decision-making.

Main Methods:

• Behavioral analysis of over 500,000 decisions in mice judging fluctuating visual stimuli.
• Probing decision strategies by assessing influence of stimulus rate and brightness.
• Optogenetic inhibition of the anteromedial (AM) visual area using JAWS to assess causal effects on behavior.

Main Results:

• Mouse decisions showed information influenced choice throughout the trial (~1000 ms) with minimal evidence accumulation leak.
• Mice were influenced by stimulus rate but not entirely able to ignore stimulus brightness.
• Optogenetic inhibition of the AM visual area biased choices, confirming its causal role in decision-making, despite light-induced confounds.

Conclusions:

• Mice exhibit visual evidence accumulation strategies similar to other species, making them suitable models for neural circuit studies.
• The anteromedial (AM) visual area is causally involved in visual evidence accumulation for decision-making in mice.
• Quantitative behavioral characterization and targeted neural manipulation are crucial for advancing decision-making research in mice.