Project description
Foraging behaviour explains diverse decision strategies and adaption
The brain’s ability to make decisions and adapt is quite remarkable. It can formulate diverse solutions to complex problems and quickly change focus to confront new situations. However, the properties behind its adaptive behaviour are not well understood. The ERC-funded DIVERSE project seeks to fill this knowledge gap by studying the neural mechanisms that influence diversity in decision strategy. To do so, it will use novel computational methods together with recent advances in electrophysiological recording and optical manipulation. Through experiments on the foraging behaviour of mice, it aims to provide exclusive neural and behavioural data for the development of a novel theoretical basis to explain behavioural versatility as an adaptive selection mechanism of parallel decision computations.
Objective
The brain has the remarkable ability to imagine diverse solutions to complex problems and to rapidly switch between them to adapt to new situations. Such properties are essential for adaptive behavior but remain poorly understood, partly due to the prevalent focus in previous studies on stereotypical behaviors. Here, we will adopt a fundamentally different approach by exploring the neural properties underlying diversity in decision strategy, aiming to provide greater insights into how the brain operates in natural conditions.
By leveraging novel computational methods that identify changes in behavioral strategy combined with the latest advances in electrophysiological recording and optical manipulation in mice, the overarching goal of the project is to understand how the brain switches between different decision strategies. We hypothesize that the brain achieves remarkable flexibility by running multiple decision processes in parallel, allowing animals to select one decision strategy while their brains maintain several alternative solutions readily available for quick adaptation. We will test this hypothesis through a series of experiments that aim at determining:
(1) Which neural circuits are involved in strategy selection?
(2) What neural mechanisms control changes in strategy?
(3) How to trigger a strategy in neural circuits and behaviors?
We will address these questions using mice in the context of foraging, a fundamental survival behavior shared among all animals, involving the search for resources in dynamic environments. The project will deliver a rich and unique neural and behavioral dataset, enabling the development of a novel conceptual framework for behavioral flexibility as an adaptive selection mechanism of parallel decision computations. Ultimately, this research will contribute to solving various aspects of the decision-making puzzle and provide a foundation for explaining the diversity in behaviors, including those that deviate from the norm.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.