Behavioral and neuroscientific analysis of economic decision making in animals

Behavioral and neuroscientific analysis of economic decision making in animals PDF Author: Tobias Kalenscher
Publisher: Frontiers E-books
ISBN: 288919096X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
The experimental analysis of animal behavior has a rich tradition in psychology, behavioral ecology and many other scientific branches dedicated to the study of decision making. However, it has never enjoyed a similar popularity in economics. This has recently changed with the dawn of neuroeconomics – a discipline combining the analytic and experimental tools of psychology and economics with the technologies available in neuroscience to unravel the neurobiological mechanisms underlying economic behavior. Since many of the sophisticated neuroscientific techniques can only be used on animals, neuroeconomists have come up with a large and ever-growing repertoire of animal models to probe economic decision making. Besides the value of using animals as model systems to emulate human economic behavior, the discipline of animal economic decision making exists in its very own right: an abundance of animal species at various evolutionary stages show behavior that complies with many of the predictions of economic theory, whilst, at the same time demonstrating violations of optimal choice models that are reminiscent of similar anomalies found in human behavior. Hence, the analysis of animal choice does not only offer insights into the evolutionary origins of economic decision making, it also testifies that the analysis of animal behavior is a convenient, economical and sound way to test competing economic decision models in optimally controlled experimental environments, to probe their neural implementation and to yield common denominators in choice behavior. In short, economic theory provides more than just an alternative language to describe animal psychology: its combination with biology, psychology and neuroscience gives way to synergy effects that open up new venues for studying economic choice. In this special issue, we would like to gather the latest results from this cross-disciplinary topic, address the overlap and discrepancies in (the neurobiology of) economic decision making found between species and identify the challenges that lie ahead in translating results from species to species, and ultimately to humans. The exclusive focus on non-human animals makes this Research Topic unique and distinct from previous special issues which covered a broader range of matters and subjects in the neurobiological analysis of decision making.

Foraging

Foraging PDF Author: David W. Stephens
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226772659
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 626

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Book Description
Foraging is fundamental to animal survival and reproduction, yet it is much more than a simple matter of finding food; it is a biological imperative. Animals must find and consume resources to succeed, and they make extraordinary efforts to do so. For instance, pythons rarely eat, but when they do, their meals are large—as much as 60 percent larger than their own bodies. The snake’s digestive system is normally dormant, but during digestion metabolic rates can increase fortyfold. A python digesting quietly on the forest floor has the metabolic rate of thoroughbred in a dead heat. This and related foraging processes have broad applications in ecology, cognitive science, anthropology, and conservation biology—and they can be further extrapolated in economics, neurobiology, and computer science. Foraging is the first comprehensive review of the topic in more than twenty years. A monumental undertaking, this volume brings together twenty-two experts from throughout the field to offer the latest on the mechanics of foraging, modern foraging theory, and foraging ecology. The fourteen essays cover all the relevant issues, including cognition, individual behavior, caching behavior, parental behavior, antipredator behavior, social behavior, population and community ecology, herbivory, and conservation. Considering a wide range of taxa, from birds to mammals to amphibians, Foraging will be the definitive guide to the field.

Neuroeconomics

Neuroeconomics PDF Author: Paul W. Glimcher
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123914698
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 606

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Book Description
In the years since it first published, Neuroeconomics: Decision Making and the Brain has become the standard reference and textbook in the burgeoning field of neuroeconomics. The second edition, a nearly complete revision of this landmark book, will set a new standard. This new edition features five sections designed to serve as both classroom-friendly introductions to each of the major subareas in neuroeconomics, and as advanced synopses of all that has been accomplished in the last two decades in this rapidly expanding academic discipline. The first of these sections provides useful introductions to the disciplines of microeconomics, the psychology of judgment and decision, computational neuroscience, and anthropology for scholars and students seeking interdisciplinary breadth. The second section provides an overview of how human and animal preferences are represented in the mammalian nervous systems. Chapters on risk, time preferences, social preferences, emotion, pharmacology, and common neural currencies—each written by leading experts—lay out the foundations of neuroeconomic thought. The third section contains both overview and in-depth chapters on the fundamentals of reinforcement learning, value learning, and value representation. The fourth section, "The Neural Mechanisms for Choice, integrates what is known about the decision-making architecture into state-of-the-art models of how we make choices. The final section embeds these mechanisms in a larger social context, showing how these mechanisms function during social decision-making in both humans and animals. The book provides a historically rich exposition in each of its chapters and emphasizes both the accomplishments and the controversies in the field. A clear explanatory style and a single expository voice characterize all chapters, making core issues in economics, psychology, and neuroscience accessible to scholars from all disciplines. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in neuroeconomics in particular or decision making in general. - Editors and contributing authors are among the acknowledged experts and founders in the field, making this the authoritative reference for neuroeconomics - Suitable as an advanced undergraduate or graduate textbook as well as a thorough reference for active researchers - Introductory chapters on economics, psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology provide students and scholars from any discipline with the keys to understanding this interdisciplinary field - Detailed chapters on subjects that include reinforcement learning, risk, inter-temporal choice, drift-diffusion models, game theory, and prospect theory make this an invaluable reference - Published in association with the Society for Neuroeconomics—www.neuroeconomics.org - Full-color presentation throughout with numerous carefully selected illustrations to highlight key concepts

Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain

Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain PDF Author: Paul W. Glimcher
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262572279
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
In this provocative book, Paul Glimcher argues that economic theory may provide an alternative to the classical Cartesian model of the brain and behavior. Glimcher argues that Cartesian dualism operates from the false premise that the reflex is able to describe behavior in the real world that animals inhabit. A mathematically rich cognitive theory, he claims, could solve the most difficult problems that any environment could present, eliminating the need for dualism by eliminating the need for a reflex theory. Such a mathematically rigorous description of the neural processes that connect sensation and action, he explains, will have its roots in microeconomic theory. Economic theory allows physiologists to define both the optimal course of action that an animal might select and a mathematical route by which that optimal solution can be derived. Glimcher outlines what an economics-based cognitive model might look like and how one would begin to test it empirically. Along the way, he presents a fascinating history of neuroscience. He also discusses related questions about determinism, free will, and the stochastic nature of complex behavior.

Goal-Directed Decision Making

Goal-Directed Decision Making PDF Author: Richard W. Morris
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128120991
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 486

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Book Description
Goal-Directed Decision Making: Computations and Neural Circuits examines the role of goal-directed choice. It begins with an examination of the computations performed by associated circuits, but then moves on to in-depth examinations on how goal-directed learning interacts with other forms of choice and response selection. This is the only book that embraces the multidisciplinary nature of this area of decision-making, integrating our knowledge of goal-directed decision-making from basic, computational, clinical, and ethology research into a single resource that is invaluable for neuroscientists, psychologists and computer scientists alike. The book presents discussions on the broader field of decision-making and how it has expanded to incorporate ideas related to flexible behaviors, such as cognitive control, economic choice, and Bayesian inference, as well as the influences that motivation, context and cues have on behavior and decision-making. - Details the neural circuits functionally involved in goal-directed decision-making and the computations these circuits perform - Discusses changes in goal-directed decision-making spurred by development and disorders, and within real-world applications, including social contexts and addiction - Synthesizes neuroscience, psychology and computer science research to offer a unique perspective on the central and emerging issues in goal-directed decision-making

Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis

Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis PDF Author: Paul W. Glimcher
Publisher: OUP USA
ISBN: 0199744254
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
Neuroeconomics has emerged at the border of the social and natural sciences. This book argues that a meaningful interdisciplinary synthesis of the study of human and animal choice is not only desirable, but also well underway, and so it is time to develop formally a foundational approach for the field.

Brain Facts

Brain Facts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780916110000
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


Advances in Behavioral Economics

Advances in Behavioral Economics PDF Author: Colin F. Camerer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691116822
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 768

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Book Description
Today, behavioral economics has become virtually mainstream.

Eye Movement Research

Eye Movement Research PDF Author: Christoph Klein
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 303020085X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 1017

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Book Description
This edited volume presents fundamentals as well as applications of oculomotor methods in industrial and clinical settings. The topical spectrum covers 1.) basics and background material, 2.) methods such as recording techniques, markov models, Lévy flights, pupillometry and many more, as well as 3.) a broad range of applications in clinical and industrial settings. The target audience primarily comprises research experts and practitioners, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students.

Brain Facts

Brain Facts PDF Author: -
Publisher: Society for Neuroscience
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
Brain Facts is a primer on the brain and nervous system, published by the Society for Neuroscience. Brain Facts is a valuable resource for educators, students, and anyone interesting in learning about neuroscience. Download an audio recording of Brain Facts today, available on BrainFacts.org and through iTunes U. The brain is the most complex biological structure in the known universe. It is a topic rich with exciting new discoveries, continuing profound unknowns, and critical implications for individuals, families, and societies. Learn more about the brain and nervous system through articles, images, videos, and more on BrainFacts.org, a public information initiative of The Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience.