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Juliane Martin: Foraging Decisions in Mice under Uncertainty

PhD defence, Friday 26 April 2019. Juliane Martin.

Juliane Martin

The search for food resources in the wild is termed foraging. These resources are often associated with uncertainty, as the animal cannot always know for sure where to find the most and best food. In the context of studying foraging decisions under uncertainty in the lab, variable interval schedules for reward delivery have been proven specifically useful. The optimal strategy to obtain as many rewards as possible under such schedules is called matching behavior. In her studies, Juliane addressed the underlying mechanisms of matching behavior. Her focus lied on how mice estimate and react to varying reward rates. To this end, she established a matching task in mice and carefully analyzed the observed choice behavior. Her results form the foundation for further comprehensive studies of how the brain makes decisions in the face of uncertainty.

The PhD degree was completed at the Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE), Science and Technology, Aarhus University.

This résumé was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday 26 April 2019, at 10.00
Place: Building 1533, room 103, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C.
Title of PhD thesis: Dynamic Choice Behavior of Mice under Variable-Interval Reinforcement Schedules
Contact information: Juliane Martin, e-mail: julianem@mbg.au.dk
Members of the assessment committee:
Principal Investigator Balazs Hangya, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
Principal Investigator Jaime de la Rocha, August Pi I Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
Associate Professor Ernst-Martin Füchtbauer, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University (chair)
Main supervisor:
Principal Investigator Duda Kvitsiani, Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE), Aarhus University
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Science and Technology/GSST, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1520 and 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.