Rational regulation of water-seeking effort in rodents

Pamela Reinagel
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Pamela Reinagel: a Division of Biological Sciences, Neurobiology Section, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021, vol. 118, issue 48, e2111742118

Abstract: We confirm that rats can act as rational economic agents, making choices about how much work to do to obtain a reward in a way that optimally trades off the value of the reward against the cost of the effort. Contrary to the notion that bigger rewards are more motivating, rats worked harder in economies where rewards were small, ensuring a sufficient minimum income of water. But they chose to earn and consume more water per day when water was “cheap” (available for little work). We present a mathematical model explaining why rats work when they do (surprisingly, not just when they are thirsty) and suggesting where in the brain animals might compute the current value of working for water.

Keywords: neuroeconomics; wage–labor law; elasticity of demand; thirst; circumventricular organs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:118:y:2021:p:e2111742118

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