(00:15) In a paper published in the Oct 25 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of neuroscientists led by Institute Professor Ann Graybiel found that untrained monkeys performing a simple visual scanning task gradually developed efficient patterns that allowed them to minimize the time it took to receive their reward. The study shows that habit formation appears to be an innate ability that is fine-tuned by experience — specifically, the costs and rewards of certain choices.

Video courtesy of Theresa Desrochers and Daniel Gibson / MIT