Washington, September 05: It’s not only humans who wonder if the grass is greener elsewhere. Even monkeys do have the desire to explore options in hopes of finding something better, a new study has revealed.
In fact, researchers at the Duke University have based their findings on an analysis of brain scans of monkeys, the findings of which are published in the latest edition of the ‘Current Biology’ journal.
“We suspect that such a fundamental question engages many areas of the brain, but this is one of the first studies to show how individual neurons can carry signals for these kinds of strategic decisions,” lead author John Pearson said.
In their study, the researchers looked at how nerve cells fired in a part of the brain known as the posterior cingulate cortex as the monkeys were offered a selection of rewards.
–PTI