July 23, 1999

Scientists Find Evidence of Biological Basis for Decision Making

By VINCENT KIERNAN

Neurobiologists long have maintained that animal behavior is largely -- if not exclusively -- determined by reflexes, or predetermined responses to stimuli from the environment. However, researchers at New York University have found the first neurobiological evidence that rhesus monkeys choose among possible behaviors based on the possible payoff from each option.

Michael L. Platt, a research fellow at

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