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SUMMARY:CPB Seminar - Iain Couzin - The Geometry of Decision-Making - Iain
  Couzin (MPI - Konstanz)
DTSTART:20220414T130000Z
DTEND:20220414T140000Z
UID:TALK172061@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Margarida Rodrigues
DESCRIPTION:The Geometry of Decision-Making\n\n\nA central challenge for a
 nimals when alone\, or when grouping with others\, is deciding where to go
 . Running\, swimming\, or flying through the world\, animals are constantl
 y making decisions while on the move—decisions that allow them to choose
  where to eat\, where to hide\, and with whom to associate. Despite this m
 ost studies have considered only on the outcome of\, and time taken to mak
 e\, decisions. Motion is\, however\, crucial in terms of how space is repr
 esented by organisms during spatial decision-making. Employing a range of 
 new technologies\, including automated tracking\, computational reconstruc
 tion of sensory information\, and immersive ‘holographic’ virtual real
 ity (VR) experiments with fruit flies\, locusts and zebrafish (representin
 g aerial\, terrestrial and aquatic locomotion\, respectively)\, I will dem
 onstrate that this time-varying representation results in the emergence of
  new and fundamental geometric principles that considerably impact decisio
 n-making. Specifically\, we find that the brain spontaneously reduces mult
 i-choice decisions into a series of abrupt (‘critical’) binary decisio
 ns in space-time\, a process that repeats until only one option—the one 
 ultimately selected by the individual—remains. Due to the nature of thes
 e transitions (and the corresponding increase in ‘susceptibility’) eve
 n noisy brains are extremely sensitive to very small differences between r
 emaining options (e.g.\, a very small difference in neuronal activity bein
 g in “favor” of one option) near these critical points in space-time. 
 This mechanism facilitates highly effective decision-making\, and is shown
  to be robust both to the number of options available\, and to context\, s
 uch as whether options are static (e.g. refuges) or mobile (e.g. other ani
 mals). In addition\, we find evidence that the same geometric principles o
 f decision-making occur across scales of biological organisation\, from ne
 ural dynamics to animal collectives\, suggesting they are fundamental feat
 ures of spatiotemporal computation.
LOCATION:Sainsbury Laboratory \, Auditorium\, 47 Bateman Street \, CB2 1LR
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