Protocol guide for food foraging behavior test: Assessment of decision making in rodents

Food foraging behavior requires higher cognitive function like investing efforts in decision making. Hoarding food for the future consumption in adverse climatic conditions or to avoid predatory threats needs precise perception and potential of decision making to overcome challenges in the time of need. The brain areas and neural circuitry responsible for such cognitive skills are poorly understood. Previously available animal models are trained prior to test, which makes it difficult to understand the true nature of animals, and hoard the food from external source into the cage. The new food foraging behavior test, recently developed and evidenced by Li et al., relies on untrained rats and test the competitive ability and hoarding from source within the test box. It can be used to study decision making potentials and underlying neural bases in laboratory settings. Multiple aspects like food quality/flavor preference, competitive nature can be assessed within the test box and the paradigm is conveniently customizable according the hypothesis. However, a detailed protocol guide, to be followed in the laboratory setting, for food foraging behavior test is not available. Therefore, it is urged to produce an elaborated guide for scientists to conduct food foraging behavior test in convenient and precise manner.