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‘Explorers’ Use Uncertainty And Specific Area of Brain

By Guest PostFebruary 11, 2012Scienceambiguity, architecture, bradley doll, brain, brown university, cognitive control, computational power, data, david badre, decision making strategy, explorers, function, functional architecture, mathematical model, michael frank, mri scanner, mystery, nicole long, nonexplorers, rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, status quo, thought process, uncertainty, virtual clock

*As they try to find the best reward among options, some people explore based on how uncertain they are about the outcome of the options. Those who employ that thought process, unlike people who use other strategies, uniquely harness the computational power of the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, a new study finds.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Life shrouds most choices in mystery. Some people inch toward a comfortable enough spot and stick close to that rewarding status quo. Out to dinner, they order the usual. Others consider their options systematically or randomly. But many choose to grapple with the uncertainty head on. “Explorers” order the special because they aren’t sure they’ll like it. It’s a strategy of maximizing rewards by discovering whether as yet unexplored options might yield better returns. In a new study, Brown University researchers show that such explorers use a specific part of their brain to calculate the relative uncertainty of their choices, while non-explorers do not. (more…)

Mathematical Model Could Help Predict and Prevent Future Extinctions

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 20111 commentEnvironment, Natureadilson motter, biodiversity, causes of climate change, demise of the dodo, dodo bird, dynamics of complex networks, earth, ecological food webs, ecosystem, extinction cascades, extinction due to human activity, gulf of mexico oil spill, human intervention, interaction, man made disasters, mathematical model, mitigate extinction, natural resources, raphus cucullatus, sagar sahasrabudhe, species conservation efforts, uncertainty

*Research could rescue fragile ecosystems and halt complex cascade events*

In an effort to better understand the dynamics of complex networks, scientists have developed a mathematical model to describe interactions within ecological food webs. This research, performed by Northwestern University physics professor Adilson Motter and his student, Sagar Sahasrabudhe, is published in the January 25 issue of Nature Communications. The work illustrates how human intervention may effectively aid species conservation efforts.

“Our study provides a theoretical basis for management efforts that would aim to mitigate extinction cascades in food web networks. There is evidence that a significant fraction of all extinctions are caused not by a primary perturbation but instead by the propagation of a cascade,” said Motter. (more…)

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‘Explorers’ Use Uncertainty And Specific Area of Brain

Mathematical Model Could Help Predict and Prevent Future Extinctions