A Fresh Perspective on How the Brain Adjusts to Changing Circumstances

In an ever-changing world, animals, including people, need to quickly adapt and learn to make decisions that lead to the best possible outcomes. In most cases, this type of learning takes place through direct experience. Depending on the choice between two specific objects or events, the animal uses previous experience with the same options.

animals with more developed brains, such as monkeys and monkeys, can also conclude the results of decisions based on knowledge of similar past situations, even if they do not experience these specific options directly. Therefore, decision-making processes often involve a balance between experience-based and knowledge-based behavioral strategies.

In primates, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of the brain is the cause of this balancing act. It not only helps you participate directly in decision-making, but also helps you "update" internal values ​​to evaluate the best options. Furthermore, OFC appears to be necessary for the correct evaluation of options for which people have no direct experience.

Despite this knowledge, the exact role of OFCs in decision making and whether different roles are based on separate neural paths remains unclear and extremely difficult to investigate.

Fortunately, the Japanese research team managed to unravel the topic, as reported in a paper published in Nature Communications Online. With the state-ART approach previously developed by the team, they selectively switch themselves from various neuropaths that come from the OFC of monkeys in newly designed behavioural tasks, revealing independent features.

The research was led by Kei Oyama of the National Institute of Quantum Science and Technology and Takafumi Manamimoto, group leader. For the behavioral task used in the experiment, Maca Monkeys had to choose from two photos presented, and the amount of juice given according to the choice was given as a reward.

Soon, the monkey learned to combine it with the amount of juice it receives. Researchers regularly change images presented to animals and reverse reward values. Overall, these tasks tested the ability of monkeys to learn from experiences (through trials and errors) and to tackle situations in which they are familiar (through knowledge-based inference).

As monkeys performed these tasks, the researchers used genetically introduced chemical switches. This is called a chemically heritable receptor and can be effectively turned on and off with the administration of a specific drug.

The team led by computed tomography, positron emisomography and magnetic resonance imaging was able to assess the effectiveness of local infusion drugs. By observing how the performance of monkeys changed, researchers were able to determine the functioning of these paths.

They found that the OFC path connecting to the caudate core is necessary for experience-based adaptation, and that knowledge-based coordination is important during the OFC path connected to the central thalamus.

The monkey's brains are surprisingly similar to our own, so important human-related conclusions can be drawn from the results. "The central meaning of our work is that it helps explain why individuals approach the same situation in different ways.

Some people can rely more on attempts and errors, while others prefer a more systematic approach based on previous knowledge." These differences in thinking style or "thinking patterns" may be related to the way each person's brain activates these specific circuits, and understanding these variations can improve personalized strategies to improve decision-making and problem-solving for those who have to struggle with a particular mindset.

Brain structure is extremely useful when examining neuropathology and psychiatric disorders. Organizing specific brain circuits involved in these two strategies could potentially create more effective treatments that will help restore balanced thinking.

Even though the brain is unquestionably one of the greatest mysteries in the universe, research like this is a step in the right direction towards a better understanding of how it functions both within our own and other creatures' brains.