Interval timing, temporal averaging, and cue integration

- When presented with multiple temporal cues, rats will time an average of their respective durations.
- Non-temporal averaging behavior has been observed during cue integration studies.
- Cue integration findings have been interpreted using Bayesian Decision Theory.
- We evaluate temporal averaging using this Bayesian perspective.

In a series of recent experiments, we found that if rats are presented with two temporal cues, each signifying that reward will be delivered after a different duration elapses (e.g., tone-10 s/light-20 s), they will behave as if they have computed a weighted average of their respective durations. In the current article, we argue that this effect, referred to as 'temporal averaging', can be understood within the context of Bayesian Decision Theory. Specifically, we propose and provide preliminary data showing that, when averaging, rats weight different durations based on the relative variability of the information their respective cues provide.