Reward-reset interval timing drives patch foraging decisions through neural state transitions in dorsomedial striatum.

ABSTRACT: Activities with diminishing returns pose a unique computational problem for the brain, requiring a combination of outcome evaluation and temporal tracking. Deciding the right time to stop one pursuit and move to alternatives is an important part of effective time management, yet it is unknown how the decision-making circuits of the brain determine the moment to switch. The dorsomedial striatum (DMS) mediates both goal-directed decision-making and interval timing-two functions that converge during patch foraging, where animals must time when to exit patches to maximize reward rates. We recorded extracellular activity from neurons in DMS while freely moving mice performed a patch-foraging task. Mice employed a 'reward-reset' strategy, primarily basing their exit decisions on the time since t

SUBMITTER: Sutlief E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12621824 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature