Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world

Abstract In situations where the left and right brain sides receive conflicting information that leads to incompatible response options, the brain requires efficient problem-solving mechanisms. This problem is particularly significant in lateralized brains, in which the hemispheres differ in encodin...

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Autores principales:	Martina Manns, Tobias Otto, Laurenz Salm
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a28799d40cbd44c9af6ac4d01316c972
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a28799d40cbd44c9af6ac4d01316c9722021-12-02T14:21:42ZPigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world10.1038/s41598-021-83406-72045-2322https://doaj.org/article/a28799d40cbd44c9af6ac4d01316c9722021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83406-7https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract In situations where the left and right brain sides receive conflicting information that leads to incompatible response options, the brain requires efficient problem-solving mechanisms. This problem is particularly significant in lateralized brains, in which the hemispheres differ in encoding strategies or attention focus and hence, consider different information for decision-making. Meta-control, in which one hemisphere dominates ambiguous decisions, can be a mechanism that ensures fast behavioral reactions. We therefore confronted pigeons with a task in which two stimulus classes were brought into conflict. To this end, we trained pigeons simultaneously on two categories (cats or dogs) whereby each hemisphere learnt only one of the categories respectively. After learning, the birds were confronted with stimulus pairs that combined a picture with a cat (positive for one hemisphere) and a picture with a dog (positive for the other hemisphere). Pecking responses indicated the hemisphere dominating response selection. Pigeons displayed individual meta-control despite equal categorization performances of both brain hemispheres. This means that hemispheric dominance only emerged in interhemispheric conflict situations. The analysis of response latencies indicate that conflict decisions relied on intrahemispheric processes. Interhemispheric components played a role for more complex decisions. This flexibility could be a crucial building block for the evolutionary success of a lateralized brain.Martina MannsTobias OttoLaurenz SalmNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Martina Manns Tobias Otto Laurenz Salm Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
description	Abstract In situations where the left and right brain sides receive conflicting information that leads to incompatible response options, the brain requires efficient problem-solving mechanisms. This problem is particularly significant in lateralized brains, in which the hemispheres differ in encoding strategies or attention focus and hence, consider different information for decision-making. Meta-control, in which one hemisphere dominates ambiguous decisions, can be a mechanism that ensures fast behavioral reactions. We therefore confronted pigeons with a task in which two stimulus classes were brought into conflict. To this end, we trained pigeons simultaneously on two categories (cats or dogs) whereby each hemisphere learnt only one of the categories respectively. After learning, the birds were confronted with stimulus pairs that combined a picture with a cat (positive for one hemisphere) and a picture with a dog (positive for the other hemisphere). Pecking responses indicated the hemisphere dominating response selection. Pigeons displayed individual meta-control despite equal categorization performances of both brain hemispheres. This means that hemispheric dominance only emerged in interhemispheric conflict situations. The analysis of response latencies indicate that conflict decisions relied on intrahemispheric processes. Interhemispheric components played a role for more complex decisions. This flexibility could be a crucial building block for the evolutionary success of a lateralized brain.
format	article
author	Martina Manns Tobias Otto Laurenz Salm
author_facet	Martina Manns Tobias Otto Laurenz Salm
author_sort	Martina Manns
title	Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
title_short	Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
title_full	Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
title_fullStr	Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
title_full_unstemmed	Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
title_sort	pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a28799d40cbd44c9af6ac4d01316c972
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Pigeons show how meta-control enables decision-making in an ambiguous world

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