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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2025

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats

Published on: March 17, 2019

Risk preferences depend on environmental richness in rats performing a patch-foraging task.

Marissa Garcia^1,2, Andrew M Wikenheiser^1,2

¹Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|February 20, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Rats preferred less risky food options when travel time was short, but showed no preference when travel time was long. Overharvesting of patches increased with successive visits, independent of risk.

Keywords:

Patch foraging decision making information-seeking overharvesting risk

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Last Updated: May 27, 2025

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats

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Published on: March 17, 2019

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Area of Science:

Behavioral neuroscience
Decision-making under risk
Foraging theory

Background:

Risk significantly influences decision-making, yet the precise mechanisms remain unclear.
Understanding how environmental factors modulate risk-sensitive foraging is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how risk affects foraging strategies in rats.
To determine the role of travel time costs in modulating risk-taking behavior.

Main Methods:

Rats chose between low-variance and high-variance food patches with equal average rewards.
Travel time between patches was manipulated (short vs. long).
Patch residence duration and foraging choices were recorded.

Main Results:

Short travel times led rats to favor the low-variance option.
Long travel times eliminated the preference for the low-variance option.
Rats consistently overharvested patches, with overharvesting increasing over time.

Conclusions:

Travel time costs significantly influence risk-sensitivity in foraging decisions.
Overharvesting appears to be a robust behavior, not solely driven by reward uncertainty.