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Circuit-Level Computations of Social Opportunity Costs under Foraging Constraints

Award Number: R15NS149434
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/06/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2029

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Circuit-Level Computations of Social Opportunity Costs under Foraging Constraints - Project Summary Animals routinely face the challenge of deciding when to remain with a valuable social partner versus seeking resources that satisfy immediate physiological needs, yet existing theories treat these decision domains in isolation. We hypothesize that a shared temporal currency, computed by interconnected prefrontal and amygdalar circuits, enables moment-to-moment arbitration between social opportunity and homeostatic drive. Our long- term goal is to establish social decision-making within a foraging context, enabling the examination of its underlying neural and genetic mechanisms. Our objective is to reveal how the hierarchical organization of the prefrontal–amygdala circuit maps onto the hierarchically structured dynamics of social foraging decisions. To achieve these goal we will leverage a uniquely naturalistic social--foraging paradigm—where mice shuttle between a social patch and a water patch while encountering variable travel costs and a manipulable history of partner encounters—we will: Aim 1 quantify and model the decision rules that govern social– hydration trade-offs; Aim 2 causally map the underlying computations with closed-loop, computation-contingent optogenetics. This study will close a fundamental gap by providing the first integrated, experimentally validated framework that unifies ecological theory, computation, and circuit mechanisms of adaptive social decision-making.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $546,335 )
2026	2026	BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY	900 S NORMAL AVE	CARBONDALE	IL	62901	JACKSON	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	5/11/2026	NEW	$546,335
														Subtotal = $546,335

Grand Total All Awards = $546,335

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Circuit-Level Computations of Social Opportunity Costs under Foraging Constraints

Award Number: R15NS149434

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/06/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 04/30/2029

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