Arc regulates a second-guessing cognitive bias during naturalistic foraging through effects on discrete behavior...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Animal Behavior
• Genetics

Background:

• Animal foraging behavior often relies on innate decision-making heuristics.
• These heuristics can lead to cognitive biases, resulting in suboptimal choices.
• The genetic underpinnings of these cognitive biases are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate innate cognitive biases in animal foraging.
• To explore the role of the synaptic plasticity gene Arc in these biases.
• To identify behavioral modules affected by Arc during foraging.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a naturalistic foraging paradigm with fasted mice.
• Observed and analyzed foraging decisions, including a bias termed "second-guessing."
• Employed unsupervised machine learning to decompose foraging behavior into modules.

Main Results:

• Discovered an innate cognitive bias called "second-guessing" where mice revisit empty food patches.
• Arc-deficient mice did not exhibit this bias and consumed more food, indicating improved foraging.
• Machine learning identified specific behavioral modules influenced by the Arc gene.

Conclusions:

• Highlights a genetic basis for cognitive biases in decision-making, specifically in foraging.
• Demonstrates a link between the Arc gene, specific behavioral modules, and cognitive bias.
• Provides insights into the ethological roles of Arc in naturalistic foraging behavior.