Dissecting the determinants of decisions: Sex differences and distributed reinforcement revealed in a rat choice task

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dc.contributor.authorDonovan, Clifford
dc.contributor.authorUniversity of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science
dc.contributor.supervisorGruber, Aaron J.
dc.date.accessioned2019-06-19T15:04:19Z
dc.date.available2019-06-19T15:04:19Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.degree.levelMastersen_US
dc.description.abstractDecision-making in the mammalian brain involves structures within the midbrain, striatum, limbic system, and cortex. My colleagues and I studied the roles of several of these structures in reward-processing and decision-making related phenomena. First, we found female rats were more likely to approach feeders outside the task context in an operant chamber with two feeders. I speculate this sexual dimorphism relates to the disproportionate effect of fasting on reproduction in female rats; this provides an alternative to the widespread interpretation that male rats are more risk-seeking than females. Next, we recorded field potentials (FPs) from seven brain regions as rats completed a binary choice task to determine if reward information originated in a particular area, and if the fidelity of information varied among them. Using a machine learning classifier, we found reinforcement information was distributed across the network and there was no canonical flow of information in the recorded structures.en_US
dc.embargoNoen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/5401
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.proquest.subjectNeurosciences [0317]en_US
dc.proquest.subjectAnimal sciences [0475]en_US
dc.proquest.subjectBehavioral sciences [0602]en_US
dc.proquestyesYesen_US
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Neuroscienceen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscienceen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)
dc.subjectReinforcementen_US
dc.subjectDecision-makingen_US
dc.subjectField potentialsen_US
dc.subjectChoice tasken_US
dc.titleDissecting the determinants of decisions: Sex differences and distributed reinforcement revealed in a rat choice tasken_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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