Principles of Economic Rationality in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Humans and non-human animals frequently violate principles of economic rationality, such as transitivity, independence of irrelevant alternatives, and regularity. The conditions that lead to these violations are not completely understood. Here we report a study on mice tested in automated home-cage setups using rewards of drinking water. Rewards differed in one of two dimensions, volume or probability. Our results suggest that mouse choice conforms to the principles of economic rationality for options that differ along a single reward dimension. A psychometric analysis of mouse choices further revealed that mice responded more strongly to differences in probability than to differences in volume, despite equivalence in return rates. This study also demonstrates the synergistic effect betwee

SUBMITTER: Rivalan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5727109 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature