title: Rhesus monkeys' valuation of vocalizations during a free-choice task.
abstract: Adaptive behavior requires that animals integrate current and past information with their decision-making. One important type of information is auditory-communication signals (i.e., species-specific vocalizations). Here, we tested how rhesus monkeys incorporate the opportunity to listen to different species-specific vocalizations into their decision-making processes. In particular, we tested how monkeys value these vocalizations relative to the opportunity to get a juice reward. To test this hypothesis, monkeys chose one of two targets to get a varying juice reward; at one of those targets, in addition to the juice reward, a vocalization was presented. By titrating the juice amounts at the two targets, we quantified the relationship between the monkeys' juice choices relative to the opportunity to listen to a vocalization. We found that, rhesus were not willing to give up a large juice reward to listen to vocalizations indicating that, relative to a juice reward, listening to vocalizations has a low value.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Brian E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Russ
authors.forename: Yale E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D016011:Normal Distribution; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012107:Research Design; D012201:Reward; D014828:Vocalization, Animal