Navigation Through the Complex World: The Neurophysiology of Decision-Making Processes

Current theories suggest that adaptive decision-making necessitates the interaction between multiple decision-making systems. The computational definitions of different models of decision-making suggest interactions with task demands and complexity. We review these computational theories and derive experimental predictions that will shed light on the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. We use a well-established multi-strategy task and novel neurophysiological analyses from the hippocampus and striatum as a case study in the interaction between task structure and navigational complexity. This approach reveals how task structure and navigational complexity interact with each other to identify differences between habitual and planned action choices.