scholarly journals Stimulus reliability automatically biases temporal integration of discrete perceptual targets

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragan Rangelov ◽  
Rebecca West ◽  
Jason B. Mattingley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Coherent Motion ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Optimal Integration ◽  
Average Motion ◽  
Motion Coherence ◽  
Busy Street

AbstractMany decisions, from crossing a busy street to choosing a profession, require integration of discrete sensory events. Previous studies have shown that integrative decision-making favours more reliable stimuli, mimicking statistically optimal integration. It remains unclear, however, whether reliability biases are automatic or strategic. To address this issue, we asked observers to reproduce the average motion direction of two suprathreshold coherent motion signals, presented successively and varying in reliability. Although unbiased responses were both optimal and possible by virtue of task rules and suprathreshold motion coherence, we found robust behavioural biases favouring the more reliable stimulus. Using population-tuning modelling of brain activity recorded using electroencephalography, we characterised tuning to the average motion direction. In keeping with the behavioural biases, the tuning profiles also exhibited reliability biases. Taken together, our findings reveal that temporal integration of discrete sensory events is automatically and sub-optimally weighted according to stimulus reliability.

scholarly journals Individual differences in intrinsic brain connectivity predict decision strategy

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (8) ◽  
pp. 1838-1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Anne Barnes ◽  
Kevin M. Anderson ◽  
Mark Plitt ◽  
Alex Martin
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Decision Strategy ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Functional Brain ◽  
Spontaneous Brain Activity ◽  
Functional Brain Networks

When humans are provided with ample time to make a decision, individual differences in strategy emerge. Using an adaptation of a well-studied decision making paradigm, motion direction discrimination, we probed the neural basis of individual differences in strategy. We tested whether strategies emerged from moment-to-moment reconfiguration of functional brain networks involved in decision making with task-evoked functional MRI (fMRI) and whether intrinsic properties of functional brain networks, measured at rest with functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI), were associated with strategy use. We found that human participants reliably selected one of two strategies across 2 days of task performance, either continuously accumulating evidence or waiting for task difficulty to decrease. Individual differences in decision strategy were predicted both by the degree of task-evoked activation of decision-related brain regions and by the strength of pretask correlated spontaneous brain activity. These results suggest that spontaneous brain activity constrains strategy selection on perceptual decisions.

scholarly journals Imperfect integration: sensory congruency between multiple sources modulates selective decision-making processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Krzeminski ◽  
Jiaxiang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Angular Distance ◽  
Coherent Motion ◽  
Decision Strategy ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Decision making on the basis of multiple information sources is common. However, to what extent such decisions differ from those with a single source remains unclear. Here, we combined cognitive modelling and neural-mass modelling to characterise the neurocognitive process underlying decision-making with single or double information sources. Ninety-four human participants performed binary decisions to discriminate the coherent motion direction averaged across two independent apertures. Regardless the angular distance of the apertures, separating motion information into two apertures resulted in a reduction in accuracy. Our modelling results further showed that the addition of the second information source led to a lower signal-to-noise ratio of evidence accumulation with two congruent information sources, and a change in the decision strategy of speed-accuracy trade-off with two incongruent sources. Thus, our findings support a robust behavioural change in relation to multiple information sources, which have congruency-dependent impacts on selective decision-making subcomponents.

scholarly journals Brain activity evoked by motion direction changes and by global motion coherence shows different spatial distributions

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 674-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Braddick ◽  
J. Wattam-Bell ◽  
D. Birtles ◽  
J. Loesch ◽  
L. Loesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spatial Distributions ◽  
Global Motion ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Motion Coherence

scholarly journals Consciousness, decision making, and volition: freedom beyond chance and necessity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Liljenström
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Neural Information ◽  
Neural Information Processing ◽  
Stochastic Population Model ◽  
The Brain

AbstractWhat is the role of consciousness in volition and decision-making? Are our actions fully determined by brain activity preceding our decisions to act, or can consciousness instead affect the brain activity leading to action? This has been much debated in philosophy, but also in science since the famous experiments by Libet in the 1980s, where the current most common interpretation is that conscious free will is an illusion. It seems that the brain knows, up to several seconds in advance what “you” decide to do. These studies have, however, been criticized, and alternative interpretations of the experiments can be given, some of which are discussed in this paper. In an attempt to elucidate the processes involved in decision-making (DM), as an essential part of volition, we have developed a computational model of relevant brain structures and their neurodynamics. While DM is a complex process, we have particularly focused on the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) for its emotional, and the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) for its cognitive aspects. In this paper, we present a stochastic population model representing the neural information processing of DM. Simulation results seem to confirm the notion that if decisions have to be made fast, emotional processes and aspects dominate, while rational processes are more time consuming and may result in a delayed decision. Finally, some limitations of current science and computational modeling will be discussed, hinting at a future development of science, where consciousness and free will may add to chance and necessity as explanation for what happens in the world.

scholarly journals Anytime collaborative brain–computer interfaces for enhancing perceptual group decision-making

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saugat Bhattacharyya ◽  
Davide Valeriani ◽  
Caterina Cinel ◽  
Luca Citi ◽  
Riccardo Poli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Brain Computer Interfaces ◽  
Appearance Time ◽  
Perceptual Group ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Related Potentials

AbstractIn this paper we present, and test in two realistic environments, collaborative Brain-Computer Interfaces (cBCIs) that can significantly increase both the speed and the accuracy of perceptual group decision-making. The key distinguishing features of this work are: (1) our cBCIs combine behavioural, physiological and neural data in such a way as to be able to provide a group decision at any time after the quickest team member casts their vote, but the quality of a cBCI-assisted decision improves monotonically the longer the group decision can wait; (2) we apply our cBCIs to two realistic scenarios of military relevance (patrolling a dark corridor and manning an outpost at night where users need to identify any unidentified characters that appear) in which decisions are based on information conveyed through video feeds; and (3) our cBCIs exploit Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) elicited in brain activity by the appearance of potential threats but, uniquely, the appearance time is estimated automatically by the system (rather than being unrealistically provided to it). As a result of these elements, in the two test environments, groups assisted by our cBCIs make both more accurate and faster decisions than when individual decisions are integrated in more traditional manners.

Increased internal noise cannot account for motion coherence processing deficits in migraine

Cephalalgia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1199-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn E Webster ◽  
J Edwin Dickinson ◽  
Josephine Battista ◽  
Allison M McKendrick ◽  
David R Badcock
Keyword(s):  
Internal Noise ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Global Motion ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Motion Coherence ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Efficient Extraction ◽  
Processing Deficits ◽  
Spiral Angle

Aim: This study aimed to revisit previous findings of superior processing of motion direction in migraineurs with a more stringent direction discrimination task and to investigate whether increased internal noise can account for motion processing deficits in migraineurs. Methods: Groups of 13 migraineurs (4 with aura, 9 without aura) and 15 headache-free controls completed three psychophysical tasks: one detecting coherence in a motion stimulus, one discriminating the spiral angle in a glass pattern and another discriminating the spiral angle in a global-motion task. Internal noise estimates were obtained for all tasks using an N-pass method. Results: Consistent with previous research, migraineurs had higher motion coherence thresholds than controls. However, there were no significant performance differences on the spiral global-motion and global-form tasks. There was no significant group difference in internal noise estimates associated with any of the tasks. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that variation in internal noise levels is not the mechanism driving motion coherence threshold differences in migraine. Rather, we argue that motion processing deficits may result from cortical changes leading to less efficient extraction of global-motion signals from noise.

scholarly journals Roles of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex and Anterior Cingulate in Subjective Valuation of Prospective Effort

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 4277-4290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick S Hogan ◽  
Joseph K Galaro ◽  
Vikram S Chib
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Effort Level ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Subjective Valuation

Abstract The perceived effort level of an action shapes everyday decisions. Despite the importance of these perceptions for decision-making, the behavioral and neural representations of the subjective cost of effort are not well understood. While a number of studies have implicated anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in decisions about effort/reward trade-offs, none have experimentally isolated effort valuation from reward and choice difficulty, a function that is commonly ascribed to this region. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity while human participants engaged in uncertain choices for prospective physical effort. Our task was designed to examine effort-based decision-making in the absence of reward and separated from choice difficulty—allowing us to investigate the brain’s role in effort valuation, independent of these other factors. Participants exhibited subjectivity in their decision-making, displaying increased sensitivity to changes in subjective effort as objective effort levels increased. Analysis of blood-oxygenation-level dependent activity revealed that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encoded the subjective valuation of prospective effort, and ACC activity was best described by choice difficulty. These results provide insight into the processes responsible for decision-making regarding effort, partly dissociating the roles of vmPFC and ACC in prospective valuation of effort and choice difficulty.

scholarly journals Transient neuronal suppression for exploitation of new sensory evidence

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Shinn ◽  
Daeyeol Lee ◽  
John D. Murray ◽  
Hyojung Seo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Frontal Eye Field ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Sensory Evidence

AbstractIn noisy but stationary environments, decisions should be based on the temporal integration of sequentially sampled evidence. This strategy has been supported by many behavioral studies and is qualitatively consistent with neural activity in multiple brain areas. By contrast, decision-making in the face of non-stationary sensory evidence remains poorly understood. Here, we trained monkeys to identify and respond via saccade to the dominant color of a dynamically refreshed bicolor patch that becomes informative after a variable delay. Animals’ behavioral responses were briefly suppressed after evidence changes, and many neurons in the frontal eye field displayed a corresponding dip in activity at this time, similar to that frequently observed after stimulus onset but sensitive to stimulus strength. Generalized drift-diffusion models revealed consistency of behavior and neural activity with brief suppression of motor output, but not with pausing or resetting of evidence accumulation. These results suggest that momentary arrest of motor preparation is important for dynamic perceptual decision making.

scholarly journals Attenuated directed exploration during reinforcement learning in gambling disorder

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wiehler ◽  
K. Chakroun ◽  
J. Peters
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Gambling Disorder ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Classical Problem ◽  
Behavioral Flexibility ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Reward Contingencies

AbstractGambling disorder is a behavioral addiction associated with impairments in decision-making and reduced behavioral flexibility. Decision-making in volatile environments requires a flexible trade-off between exploitation of options with high expected values and exploration of novel options to adapt to changing reward contingencies. This classical problem is known as the exploration-exploitation dilemma. We hypothesized gambling disorder to be associated with a specific reduction in directed (uncertainty-based) exploration compared to healthy controls, accompanied by changes in brain activity in a fronto-parietal exploration-related network.Twenty-three frequent gamblers and nineteen matched controls performed a classical four-armed bandit task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Computational modeling revealed that choice behavior in both groups contained signatures of directed exploration, random exploration and perseveration. Gamblers showed a specific reduction in directed exploration, while random exploration and perseveration were similar between groups.Neuroimaging revealed no evidence for group differences in neural representations of expected value and reward prediction errors. Likewise, our hypothesis of attenuated fronto-parietal exploration effects in gambling disorder was not supported. However, during directed exploration, gamblers showed reduced parietal and substantia nigra / ventral tegmental area activity. Cross-validated classification analyses revealed that connectivity in an exploration-related network was predictive of clinical status, suggesting alterations in network dynamics in gambling disorder.In sum, we show that reduced flexibility during reinforcement learning in volatile environments in gamblers is attributable to a reduction in directed exploration rather than an increase in perseveration. Neuroimaging findings suggest that patterns of network connectivity might be more diagnostic of gambling disorder than univariate value and prediction error effects. We provide a computational account of flexibility impairments in gamblers during reinforcement learning that might arise as a consequence of dopaminergic dysregulation in this disorder.

Low Decision Acuity, a General Factor for Decision-Making Underpinned by Specific Resting-State Brain Activity, is Associated With High Aberrant Thinking in Young People

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (9) ◽  
pp. S111-S112
Author(s):  
Michael Moutoussis ◽  
Benjamin Garzon ◽  
Sharon Neufeld ◽  
Edward Bullmore ◽  
Dominik Bach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
General Factor
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document