Neuroscience & Psychology

Decoding Decision-Making: Insect Brains Are More Complex Than We Thought

The mushroom body—a key area in the brains of arthropods like insects—plays a crucial role in abstract behavioral decision-making.

Contrary to the long-standing belief that insects react purely on stimulus-response, the study shows they can actually make nuanced decisions based on experiences. The researchers recorded feeding behavior alongside neural signals.

The mushroom body in arthropod brains encodes for both memory formation and complex decision-making, contesting prior views that insects operate merely on a stimulus-response basis.

The research involved the American cockroach, chosen for its relatively large brain, making it easier to measure and interpret neural signals and behavior in real-time.

The output neurons of the mushroom body also take into account the current state of the animal, like whether it is hungry, enabling more precise prediction of behavior.

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www.tg-me.com/ua/Neuroscience of Learning/com.neurocognitionandlearning/5113

183 viewsedited  May 29 at 07:03

Decoding Decision-Making: Insect Brains Are More Complex Than We Thought

The mushroom body—a key area in the brains of arthropods like insects—plays a crucial role in abstract behavioral decision-making.

Contrary to the long-standing belief that insects react purely on stimulus-response, the study shows they can actually make nuanced decisions based on experiences. The researchers recorded feeding behavior alongside neural signals.

The mushroom body in arthropod brains encodes for both memory formation and complex decision-making, contesting prior views that insects operate merely on a stimulus-response basis.

The research involved the American cockroach, chosen for its relatively large brain, making it easier to measure and interpret neural signals and behavior in real-time.

The output neurons of the mushroom body also take into account the current state of the animal, like whether it is hungry, enabling more precise prediction of behavior.

🆔@neurocognitionandlearning

BY Neuroscience & Psychology