The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry.
From ants to humans, the timing of many animal behaviors comes in bursts of activity separated by long periods of inactivity. Recently, mathematical modeling has shown that simple algorithms of priority-driven behavioral choice can result in bursty behavior. To experimentally test this link between...
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doaj-5aece79fc73c4d9dbbee40c4d1669afd2021-04-21T15:29:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582011-06-0176e100207510.1371/journal.pcbi.1002075The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry.Amanda SorribesBeatriz G ArmendarizDiego Lopez-PigozziCristina MurgaGonzalo G de PolaviejaFrom ants to humans, the timing of many animal behaviors comes in bursts of activity separated by long periods of inactivity. Recently, mathematical modeling has shown that simple algorithms of priority-driven behavioral choice can result in bursty behavior. To experimentally test this link between decision-making circuitry and bursty dynamics, we have turned to Drosophila melanogaster. We have found that the statistics of intervals between activity periods in endogenous activity-rest switches of wild-type Drosophila are very well described by the Weibull distribution, a common distribution of bursty dynamics in complex systems. The bursty dynamics of wild-type Drosophila walking activity are shown to be determined by this inter-event distribution alone and not by memory effects, thus resembling human dynamics. Further, using mutant flies that disrupt dopaminergic signaling or the mushroom body, circuitry implicated in decision-making, we show that the degree of behavioral burstiness can be modified. These results are thus consistent with the proposed link between decision-making circuitry and bursty dynamics, and highlight the importance of using simple experimental systems to test general theoretical models of behavior. The findings further suggest that analysis of bursts could prove useful for the study and evaluation of decision-making circuitry.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21731478/?tool=EBI |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Amanda Sorribes Beatriz G Armendariz Diego Lopez-Pigozzi Cristina Murga Gonzalo G de Polavieja |
spellingShingle |
Amanda Sorribes Beatriz G Armendariz Diego Lopez-Pigozzi Cristina Murga Gonzalo G de Polavieja The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. PLoS Computational Biology |
author_facet |
Amanda Sorribes Beatriz G Armendariz Diego Lopez-Pigozzi Cristina Murga Gonzalo G de Polavieja |
author_sort |
Amanda Sorribes |
title |
The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
title_short |
The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
title_full |
The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
title_fullStr |
The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
title_sort |
origin of behavioral bursts in decision-making circuitry. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS Computational Biology |
issn |
1553-734X 1553-7358 |
publishDate |
2011-06-01 |
description |
From ants to humans, the timing of many animal behaviors comes in bursts of activity separated by long periods of inactivity. Recently, mathematical modeling has shown that simple algorithms of priority-driven behavioral choice can result in bursty behavior. To experimentally test this link between decision-making circuitry and bursty dynamics, we have turned to Drosophila melanogaster. We have found that the statistics of intervals between activity periods in endogenous activity-rest switches of wild-type Drosophila are very well described by the Weibull distribution, a common distribution of bursty dynamics in complex systems. The bursty dynamics of wild-type Drosophila walking activity are shown to be determined by this inter-event distribution alone and not by memory effects, thus resembling human dynamics. Further, using mutant flies that disrupt dopaminergic signaling or the mushroom body, circuitry implicated in decision-making, we show that the degree of behavioral burstiness can be modified. These results are thus consistent with the proposed link between decision-making circuitry and bursty dynamics, and highlight the importance of using simple experimental systems to test general theoretical models of behavior. The findings further suggest that analysis of bursts could prove useful for the study and evaluation of decision-making circuitry. |
url |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21731478/?tool=EBI |
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