Topic: multi-option foraging

In natural environments, animals must efficiently allocate their choices across multiple concurrently available resources when foraging, a complex decision-making process not fully captured by existing models. To understand how animals learn to navigate this challenge we developed a novel paradigm in which untrained, water-restricted mice were free to sample from six options rewarded at a range of deterministic intervals and positioned around the walls of a large arena. Combining core features of quantitative models of foraging and decision-making, we developed a novel reinforcement learning (