scholarly journals Linking neural activity to complex decisions

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 331-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN HAYDEN ◽  
TATIANA PASTERNAK

AbstractIn the 1990s, seminal work from Newsome and colleagues made it possible to study the neuronal mechanisms of simple perceptual decisions. The key strength of this work was the clear and direct link between neuronal activity and choice processes. Since then, a great deal of research has extended these initial discoveries to more complex forms of decision making, with the goal of bringing the same strength of linkage between neural and psychological processes. Here, we discuss the progress of two such research programs, namely our own, that are aimed at understanding memory-guided decisions and reward-guided decisions. These problems differ in the relevant brain areas, in the progress that has been achieved, and in the extent of broader understanding achieved so far. However, they are unified by the use of theoretical insights about how to link neuronal activity to decisions.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E Wool ◽  
The International Brain Laboratory

The International Brain Laboratory (IBL) is a collaboration of ~20 laboratories dedicated to developing a standardized mouse decision-making behavior, coordinating measurements of neural activity across the mouse brain, and utilizing theoretical approaches to formalize the neural computations that support decision-making. In contrast to traditional neuroscientific practice, in which individual laboratories each probe different behaviors and record from a few select brain areas, IBL aims to deliver a standardized, high-density approach to behavioral and neural assays. This approach relies on a highly distributed, collaborative network of ~50 researchers—postdocs, graduate students, and scientific staff—who coordinate the intellectual, administrative, and sociological aspects of the project. In this article, we examine this network, extract some lessons learned, and consider how IBL may represent a template for other team-based approaches in neuroscience, and beyond.


2010 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. e299
Author(s):  
Satoshi Nonomura ◽  
Kazuyuki Samejima ◽  
Kenji Doya ◽  
Jun Tanji

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1641) ◽  
pp. 20130211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randolph Blake ◽  
Jan Brascamp ◽  
David J. Heeger

This essay critically examines the extent to which binocular rivalry can provide important clues about the neural correlates of conscious visual perception. Our ideas are presented within the framework of four questions about the use of rivalry for this purpose: (i) what constitutes an adequate comparison condition for gauging rivalry's impact on awareness, (ii) how can one distinguish abolished awareness from inattention, (iii) when one obtains unequivocal evidence for a causal link between a fluctuating measure of neural activity and fluctuating perceptual states during rivalry, will it generalize to other stimulus conditions and perceptual phenomena and (iv) does such evidence necessarily indicate that this neural activity constitutes a neural correlate of consciousness? While arriving at sceptical answers to these four questions, the essay nonetheless offers some ideas about how a more nuanced utilization of binocular rivalry may still provide fundamental insights about neural dynamics, and glimpses of at least some of the ingredients comprising neural correlates of consciousness, including those involved in perceptual decision-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca F. Kaiser ◽  
Theo O. J. Gruendler ◽  
Oliver Speck ◽  
Lennart Luettgau ◽  
Gerhard Jocham

AbstractIn a dynamic world, it is essential to decide when to leave an exploited resource. Such patch-leaving decisions involve balancing the cost of moving against the gain expected from the alternative patch. This contrasts with value-guided decisions that typically involve maximizing reward by selecting the current best option. Patterns of neuronal activity pertaining to patch-leaving decisions have been reported in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), whereas competition via mutual inhibition in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is thought to underlie value-guided choice. Here, we show that the balance between cortical excitation and inhibition (E/I balance), measured by the ratio of GABA and glutamate concentrations, plays a dissociable role for the two kinds of decisions. Patch-leaving decision behaviour relates to E/I balance in dACC. In contrast, value-guided decision-making relates to E/I balance in vmPFC. These results support mechanistic accounts of value-guided choice and provide evidence for a role of dACC E/I balance in patch-leaving decisions.


Open Biology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 160229 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Axel Gorostiza ◽  
Julien Colomb ◽  
Björn Brembs

Like a moth into the flame—phototaxis is an iconic example for innate preferences. Such preferences probably reflect evolutionary adaptations to predictable situations and have traditionally been conceptualized as hard-wired stimulus–response links. Perhaps for that reason, the century-old discovery of flexibility in Drosophila phototaxis has received little attention. Here, we report that across several different behavioural tests, light/dark preference tested in walking is dependent on various aspects of flight. If we temporarily compromise flying ability, walking photopreference reverses concomitantly. Neuronal activity in circuits expressing dopamine and octopamine, respectively, plays a differential role in photopreference, suggesting a potential involvement of these biogenic amines in this case of behavioural flexibility. We conclude that flies monitor their ability to fly, and that flying ability exerts a fundamental effect on action selection in Drosophila . This work suggests that even behaviours which appear simple and hard-wired comprise a value-driven decision-making stage, negotiating the external situation with the animal's internal state, before an action is selected.


2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Shinn ◽  
Daeyeol Lee ◽  
John D. Murray ◽  
Hyojung Seo

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.


1992 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-167
Author(s):  
Frances Klemperer

There can be no doubt that schizophrenia is associated with a variety of neurophysiological disturbances and disordered cognitive functioning. But we are only beginning to identify which brain areas are involved and to discover how abnormalities in these areas are related to abnormal psychological processes. This symposium, organised by Drs David and Cutting, offered an opportunity to learn about the work of both psychologists and psychiatrists in this field. Diverse research presented ranged from PET studies to the analysis of home videos, from epidemiological work to studies of cognitive performance.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmelo Bellardita ◽  
Vittorio Caggiano ◽  
Roberto Leiras ◽  
Vanessa Caldeira ◽  
Andrea Fuchs ◽  
...  

Spasms after spinal cord injury (SCI) are debilitating involuntary muscle contractions that have been associated with increased motor neuron excitability and decreased inhibition. However, whether spasms involve activation of premotor spinal excitatory neuronal circuits is unknown. Here we use mouse genetics, electrophysiology, imaging and optogenetics to directly target major classes of spinal interneurons as well as motor neurons during spasms in a mouse model of chronic SCI. We find that assemblies of excitatory spinal interneurons are recruited by sensory input into functional circuits to generate persistent neural activity, which interacts with both the graded expression of plateau potentials in motor neurons to generate spasms, and inhibitory interneurons to curtail them. Our study reveals hitherto unrecognized neuronal mechanisms for the generation of persistent neural activity under pathophysiological conditions, opening up new targets for treatment of muscle spasms after SCI.


Author(s):  
Juan Arturo Díaz Sosa ◽  
Irene Caligiore Corrales

ABSTRACTThe ontological foundations of bioethics are traced from the "Nicomachean Ethics" (EN) Aristotle. To do this, we analyze the "Biological Treaties", the "Treaties Psychological" and "Metaphysics" Aristotle latter being considered the seminal work of Western ontological thought. The "Midpoint" the "Prudence", "Justice", the Amistad, the "Act", the "Power", the "substance" and "Alma", respectively, are basic categories, from which raised the respective discussions and interpretations. Various secondary sources provided the corresponding interpretative approaches theoretically required to support this research. The Spanish translation of the EN, by Marías, J. (1970), was the immediate source taken as a basis for interpretive contributions corresponding, which was analyzed by Books reason of logical and systematic sequence of this work. . Bioethics is assumed that since it implies deliberation prerequisite for formulating conclusions should be viewed as a tool for decision making. These decisions take transcendent nature they involve inherent addressing "Being" as "Being and" Being "in Society problems. Bioethics is ethics while applied to the field of life and health of man stands as a discipline whose identity logos after seat logical and epistemological found precisely in philosophy. The contemporary ethical proposals analyzed in this study do not provide length and breadth from Aristotle EN as basic references for redefinition. Research conducted suggests the adoption of a new logo to redefine "Bioethics" based on ethics, psychology and Aristotelian Biology. For purposes of defining the present manuscript. The most significant findings related to the analysis of the Nicomachean Ethics (EN) Disclosed.RESUMENSe rastrean los fundamentos ontológicos de la Bioética desde la “Ética a Nicómaco” (EN) de Aristóteles. Para ello se analizan los “Tratados Biológicos”, los “Tratados Psicológicos” y la “Metafísica” aristotélica por ser considerada esta última la obra fundamental del pensamiento ontológico occidental. El “Punto Medio”, la “Prudencia”, la “Justicia”, la Amistad, el “Acto”, la “Potencia”, la “Sustancia” y el “Alma”, respectivamente, constituyen categorías básicas, a partir de las cuales se plantean las respectivas discusiones e interpretaciones. Diversas fuentes secundarias aportaron las correspondientes aproxima-ciones interpretativas requeridas para fundamentar teóricamente esta Investigación. La traducción al español de la EN, realiza-da por Marías, J. (1970), constituyó la fuente inmediata tomada como base para los correspondientes aportes interpretativos, la cual fue analizada por Libros en razón de la secuencia lógica y sistemática de esta obra. Se asume que la Bioética en tanto que implica deliberación, paso previo para la formulación de conclusiones, debe ser vista como una herramienta para la toma de decisiones. Estas decisiones adquieren carácter trascendente porque implican el abordaje de problemas inherentes al “Ser” en cuanto “Ser y al “Ser” en Sociedad. La Bioética en tanto que es ética aplicada al campo de la vida y la salud del hombre se erige como un logos tras disciplinario cuya identidad y asiento epistemológico se encuentran precisamente en la filosofía. Las propuestas éticas contemporáneas analizadas en este estudio no aportan extensión y amplitud desde la EN de Aristóteles como referentes básicos para su redefinición. La Investigación realizada sugiere la adopción de un nuevo logos para redefinir la “Bioética” con fundamento en la Ética, la Psicología y la Biología aristotélica. Para fines de delimitar el presente manuscrito. Se exponen los hallazgos más significativos relacionados con la el análisis de la Ética a Nicómaco (EN).


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