{"id":{"repo_id":"lethbridge","oai_identifier":"oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5401"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/lethbridge/oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5401","repository":{"repo_id":"lethbridge","name":"University of Lethbridge","base_url":"https://opus.uleth.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Dissecting the determinants of decisions: Sex differences and distributed reinforcement revealed in a rat choice task","abstract":"Decision-making in the mammalian brain involves structures within the midbrain, striatum, limbic system, and cortex. My colleagues and I studied the roles of several of these structures in reward-processing and decision-making related phenomena. First, we found female rats were more likely to approach feeders outside the task context in an operant chamber with two feeders. I speculate this sexual dimorphism relates to the disproportionate effect of fasting on reproduction in female rats; this provides an alternative to the widespread interpretation that male rats are more risk-seeking than females. Next, we recorded field potentials (FPs) from seven brain regions as rats completed a binary choice task to determine if reward information originated in a particular area, and if the fidelity of information varied among them. Using a machine learning classifier, we found reinforcement information was distributed across the network and there was no canonical flow of information in the recorded structures.","abstract_html":"Decision-making in the mammalian brain involves structures within the midbrain, striatum, limbic system, and cortex. My colleagues and I studied the roles of several of these structures in reward-processing and decision-making related phenomena. First, we found female rats were more likely to approach feeders outside the task context in an operant chamber with two feeders. I speculate this sexual dimorphism relates to the disproportionate effect of fasting on reproduction in female rats; this provides an alternative to the widespread interpretation that male rats are more risk-seeking than females. Next, we recorded field potentials (FPs) from seven brain regions as rats completed a binary choice task to determine if reward information originated in a particular area, and if the fidelity of information varied among them. Using a machine learning classifier, we found reinforcement information was distributed across the network and there was no canonical flow of information in the recorded structures.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Donovan, Clifford","University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019","date_published":"2019","updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:02:26Z","subjects":["Reinforcement","Decision-making","Field potentials","Choice task"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10133/5401"],"render_values":[{"text":"hdl:10133/5401","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2019"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Reinforcement","Decision-making","Field potentials","Choice task"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["hdl:10133/5401"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.other","label":"Dc Description Other","values":["Decision-making in the mammalian brain involves structures within the midbrain, striatum, limbic system, and cortex. My colleagues and I studied the roles of several of these structures in reward-processing and decision-making related phenomena. First, we found female rats were more likely to approach feeders outside the task context in an operant chamber with two feeders. I speculate this sexual dimorphism relates to the disproportionate effect of fasting on reproduction in female rats; this provides an alternative to the widespread interpretation that male rats are more risk-seeking than females. Next, we recorded field potentials (FPs) from seven brain regions as rats completed a binary choice task to determine if reward information originated in a particular area, and if the fidelity of information varied among them. Using a machine learning classifier, we found reinforcement information was distributed across the network and there was no canonical flow of information in the recorded structures."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Dissecting the determinants of decisions: Sex differences and distributed reinforcement revealed in a rat choice task"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:date.issued":["2019"],"dc:description.other":["Decision-making in the mammalian brain involves structures within the midbrain, striatum, limbic system, and cortex. My colleagues and I studied the roles of several of these structures in reward-processing and decision-making related phenomena. First, we found female rats were more likely to approach feeders outside the task context in an operant chamber with two feeders. I speculate this sexual dimorphism relates to the disproportionate effect of fasting on reproduction in female rats; this provides an alternative to the widespread interpretation that male rats are more risk-seeking than females. Next, we recorded field potentials (FPs) from seven brain regions as rats completed a binary choice task to determine if reward information originated in a particular area, and if the fidelity of information varied among them. Using a machine learning classifier, we found reinforcement information was distributed across the network and there was no canonical flow of information in the recorded structures."],"dc:identifier":["hdl:10133/5401"],"dc:subject":["Reinforcement","Decision-making","Field potentials","Choice task"],"dc:title":["Dissecting the determinants of decisions: Sex differences and distributed reinforcement revealed in a rat choice task"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T20:02:26Z"}