Attention Deficits Linked with Proclivity to Explore while Foraging

Background: All mobile organisms forage for resources, choosing to depart for a new source based on changes in resource intake rates and comparisons with the average for the environment. In humans, nomadic lifestyles favoring exploration have been associated with genetic mutations implicated in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), inviting the hypothesis that this condition may impact foraging decisions in the general population. Here we tested this pre-registered hypothesis by examining when human participants chose to leave depleting resource patches for new ones in an online foraging task. Design: The report studied the foraging behavior of participants [n = 506; mean age = 45.72 ± 16.08 y.o.; 46.4% male], drawn from an online experimental platform. Participants completed a basic foraging task on the computer, deciding on every trial whether to continue collecting rewards from a depleting patch of resources or to replenish the patch, from their home and then completed an ADHD self-report survey. Results: Participants departed resource patches sooner when travel times between patches were shorter than when they were longer, as predicted by optimal foraging theory. Participants whose scores on a well-validated self-report assessment for ADHD crossed the threshold for a positive screen departed patches significantly sooner than participants who did not meet this criterion. Participants meeting this threshold for ADHD also achieved higher reward rates than individuals who did not. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ADHD attributes may confer foraging advantages in some environments and invite the possibility that this condition may reflect an adaptation favoring exploration over exploitation.