Decision-making and action selection in insects: inspiration from vertebrate-based theories - PMC
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Front Behav Neurosci<br>. 2015 Aug 18;9:216. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00216
Decision-making and action selection in insects: inspiration from vertebrate-based theories
Andrew B Barron<br>Andrew B Barron
1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
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1,*, Kevin N Gurney<br>Kevin N Gurney
2Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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2, Lianne F S Meah<br>Lianne F S Meah
3Department of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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3, Eleni Vasilaki<br>Eleni Vasilaki
3Department of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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3, James A R Marshall<br>James A R Marshall
3Department of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
2Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
3Department of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Edited by: Matthew O. Parker, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Reviewed by: Paul Graham, University of Sussex, UK; Sebastian McBride, University of Cambridge, UK
✉*Correspondence: Andrew B. Barron, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Building E8A, Eastern Road, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia andrew.barron@mq.edu.au
Received 2015 Apr 1; Accepted 2015 Jul 30; Collection date 2015.
Copyright © 2015 Barron, Gurney, Meah, Vasilaki and Marshall.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution and reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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PMCID: PMC4539514 PMID: 26347627
Abstract
Effective decision-making, one of the most crucial functions of the brain, entails the analysis of sensory information and the selection of appropriate behavior in response to stimuli. Here, we consider the current state of knowledge on the mechanisms of decision-making and action selection in the insect brain, with emphasis on the olfactory processing system. Theoretical and computational models of decision-making emphasize the importance of using inhibitory connections to couple evidence-accumulating pathways; this coupling allows for effective discrimination between competing alternatives and thus enables a decision maker to reach a stable unitary decision. Theory also shows that the coupling of pathways can be implemented using a variety of different mechanisms and vastly improves the performance of decision-making systems. The vertebrate basal ganglia appear to resolve stable action selection by being a point of convergence for multiple excitatory and inhibitory inputs such that only one possible response is selected and all other alternatives are suppressed. Similar principles appear to operate within the insect brain. The insect lateral protocerebrum (LP) serves as a point of convergence for multiple excitatory and inhibitory channels of olfactory information to effect stable decision and action selection, at least for olfactory information. The LP is a rather understudied region of the insect brain, yet this premotor region may be key to effective resolution of action section. We argue that it may be beneficial to use models developed to explore the operation of the vertebrate brain as inspiration when considering action selection in the invertebrate domain. Such an approach may facilitate the proposal of new hypotheses and furthermore frame experimental studies for how decision-making and action selection might be achieved in insects.
Keywords: mushroom body, protocerebral calycal tract, leaky competing accumulator model, cross inhibition, parallel inhibition, mutual inhibition, basal ganglia,...