Neural encoding of perceived patch value during competitive and hazardous virtual foraging

This study investigates how humans make foraging decisions in virtual environments with varying levels of competition and predation risk. Participants performed a virtual foraging task where they chose between patches with different numbers of competitors, under safe and hazardous conditions. The results show that humans adopt competition-avoidant strategies in safe environments and risk-dilution strategies in hazardous environments, depending on a computed 'perceived patch value' (PPV). Multivariate fMRI analyses revealed that PPV is encoded by the mid-cingulate cortex (MCC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC), regions known to integrate action and value signals. This suggests that humans integrate multidimensional information to optimize foraging decisions in complex environments, and the MCC and vMPFC play a crucial role in adapting to both competitive and predatory threats.

Brian Silston, Toby Wise, Song Qi, Xin Sui, Peter Dayan, Dean Mobbs