Preferences for nutrients and sensory food qualities identify biological sources of economic values in monkeys.

ABSTRACT: Value is a foundational concept in reinforcement learning and economic choice theory. In these frameworks, individuals choose by assigning values to objects and learn by updating values with experience. These theories have been instrumental for revealing influences of probability, risk, and delay on choices. However, they do not explain how values are shaped by intrinsic properties of the choice objects themselves. Here, we investigated how economic value derives from the biologically critical components of foods: their nutrients and sensory qualities. When monkeys chose nutrient-defined liquids, they consistently preferred fat and sugar to low-nutrient alternatives. Rather than maximizing energy indiscriminately, they seemed to assign subjective values to specific nutrients, flexibly trad

SUBMITTER: Huang FY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8255786 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature