The iBehave projects in topic A will investigate how internal models and external information guide decision-making and address how changing internal models and previous experience contribute to selecting the appropriate behavioral goal.
Research Topic A: The iBehave approach. B) Exemplary recording settings: Ca2+ imaging in head-fixed Drosophila (IP1,2), miniature 2-photon imaging in freely moving mice and OPM-MEG recording in unrestrained, tethered human subjects (IP1). C) Joint paradigm to study risky foraging under open-field-exposure threat in rodents (IP1). D) Risky foraging in virtual reality (human, IP1). E) Novelty seeking behavior of head-fixed mice studied with 2-photon imaging in a multisensory VR environment (1, vision, 2 audition, 3 smell, IP3).
IP1 will focus on the integration of threat states into the economic decisions of reward approach and -avoidance.
IP2 will explore the role of internal states, i.e., hunger and satiation, and of neuromodulation in foraging decisions and goal-directed behavior.
IP3 will address how goal-directed behavior is shaped by incoming sensory information interacting with expectations derived from memory.
