Abstract
Choosing among spatially distributed options is a central challenge for animals, from deciding among alternative potential food sources or refuges to choosing with whom to associate. Using an integrated theoretical and experimental approach (employing immersive virtual reality), we consider the interplay between movement and vectorial integration during decision-making regarding two, or more, options in space. In computational models of this process, we reveal the occurrence of spontaneous and abrupt "critical" transitions (associated with specific geometrical relationships) whereby organisms spontaneously switch from averaging vectorial information among, to suddenly excluding one among, the remaining options. This bifurcation process repeats until only one option-the one ultimately selected-remains. Thus, we predict that the brain repeatedly breaks multichoice decisions into a series of binary decisions in space-time. Experiments with fruit flies, desert locusts, and larval zebrafish reveal that they exhibit these same bifurcations, demonstrating that across taxa and ecological contexts, there exist fundamental geometric principles that are essential to explain how, and why, animals move the way they do.
Highlights
Choosing among spatially distributed options is a central challenge for animals, from deciding among alternative potential food sources or refuges to choosing with whom to associate
While the movement of an animal may, initially, appear to be a readout of the decision made by the brain—and not informative—this view overlooks important dynamical properties introduced into the decision-making process that result from the inevitable time-varying geometrical relationships between an organism and spatially distributed options
Employing an approach that integrates theory and highthroughput experiments, we reveal that there exist fundamental geometrical principles that result from the inherent interplay between movement and organisms’ internal representation of space
Summary
Choosing among spatially distributed options is a central challenge for animals, from deciding among alternative potential food sources or refuges to choosing with whom to associate. Crucial in terms of how space is represented by organisms during spatial decision-making; the brains of a wide range of species, from insects [7, 8] to vertebrates [9, 10], have been shown to represent egocentric spatial relationships, such as the position of desired targets, via explicit vectorial representation [11, 12]. Such neuronal representations must, and do, change as animals move through space. We employ immersive virtual reality to investigate decision-making regarding multiple (two or more) options in both invertebrate
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