scholarly journals Intrinsic timescales of sensory integration for motion perception

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woochul Choi ◽  
Se-Bum Paik
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Integration ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Kernel Size ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Subject Specific ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Perceptual Alternation

A subject-specific process of accumulation of information may be responsible for variations in decision time following visual perceptions in humans. A detailed profile of this perceptual decision making, however, has not yet been verified. Using a coherence-varying motion discrimination task, we precisely measured the perceptual decision kernel of subjects. We observed that the kernel size (decision time) is consistent within subjects, independent of stimulus dynamics, and the observed kernel could accurately predict each subject’s performance. Interestingly, the performance of most subjects was optimized when stimulus duration was matched to their kernel size. We also found that the observed kernel size was strongly correlated with the perceptual alternation in bistable conditions. Our result suggests that the observed decision kernel reveals a subject-specific feature of sensory integration.

scholarly journals Slow rhythmic eye motion predicts periodic alternation of bistable perception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woochul Choi ◽  
Hyeonsu Lee ◽  
Se-Bum Paik
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Bistable Perception ◽  
Eye Motion ◽  
Perceptual Alternation ◽  
Gaze Position

AbstractBistable perception is characterized by periodic alternation between two different perceptual interpretations, the mechanism of which is poorly understood. Herein, we show that perceptual decisions in bistable perception are strongly correlated with slow rhythmic eye motion, the frequency of which varies across individuals. From eye gaze trajectory measurements during three types of bistable tasks, we found that each subject’s gaze position oscillates slowly(less than 1Hz), and that this frequency matches that of bistable perceptual alternation. Notably, the motion of the eye apparently moves in opposite directions before two opposite perceptual decisions, and this enables the prediction of the timing and direction of perceptual alternation from eye motion. We also found that the correlation between eye movement and a perceptual decision is maintained during variations of the alternation frequency by the intentional switching or retaining of perceived states. This result suggests that periodic bistable perception is phase-locked with rhythmic eye motion.

scholarly journals Probabilistic discrimination of relative stimulus features in mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (30) ◽  
pp. e2103952118
Author(s):  
Dmitry R. Lyamzin ◽  
Ryo Aoki ◽  
Mohammad Abdolrahmani ◽  
Andrea Benucci
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Choice Model ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision

During perceptual decision-making, the brain encodes the upcoming decision and the stimulus information in a mixed representation. Paradigms suitable for studying decision computations in isolation rely on stimulus comparisons, with choices depending on relative rather than absolute properties of the stimuli. The adoption of tasks requiring relative perceptual judgments in mice would be advantageous in view of the powerful tools available for the dissection of brain circuits. However, whether and how mice can perform a relative visual discrimination task has not yet been fully established. Here, we show that mice can solve a complex orientation discrimination task in which the choices are decoupled from the orientation of individual stimuli. Moreover, we demonstrate a typical discrimination acuity of 9°, challenging the common belief that mice are poor visual discriminators. We reached these conclusions by introducing a probabilistic choice model that explained behavioral strategies in 40 mice and demonstrated that the circularity of the stimulus space is an additional source of choice variability for trials with fixed difficulty. Furthermore, history biases in the model changed with task engagement, demonstrating behavioral sensitivity to the availability of cognitive resources. In conclusion, our results reveal that mice adopt a diverse set of strategies in a task that decouples decision-relevant information from stimulus-specific information, thus demonstrating their usefulness as an animal model for studying neural representations of relative categories in perceptual decision-making research.

scholarly journals Unification of Countermanding and Perceptual Decision-making

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Middlebrooks ◽  
Bram B. Zandbelt ◽  
Gordon D. Logan ◽  
Thomas J. Palmeri ◽  
Jeffrey D. Schall
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
Sequential Sampling ◽  
Race Model ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Sequential Sampling Models ◽  
Choice Tasks

Perceptual decision-making, studied using two-alternative forced-choice tasks, is explained by sequential sampling models of evidence accumulation, which correspond to the dynamics of neurons in sensorimotor structures of the brain1 2. Response inhibition, studied using stop-signal (countermanding) tasks, is explained by a race model of the initiation or canceling of a response, which correspond to the dynamics of neurons in sensorimotor structures3 4. Neither standard model accounts for performance of the other task. Sequential sampling models incorporate response initiation as an uninterrupted non-decision time parameter independent of task-related variables. The countermanding race model does not account for the choice process. Here we show with new behavioral, neural and computational results that perceptual decision making of varying difficulty can be countermanded with invariant efficiency, that single prefrontal neurons instantiate both evidence accumulation and response inhibition, and that an interactive race between two GO and one STOP stochastic accumulator fits countermanding choice behavior. Thus, perceptual decision-making and response control, previously regarded as distinct mechanisms, are actually aspects of more flexible behavior supported by a common neural and computational mechanism. The identification of this aspect of decision-making with response production clarifies the component processes of decision-making.

scholarly journals Effector-dependent response deterioration by stochastic transformations reveals mixed reference frames for decisions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Scott Murdison ◽  
Dominic Standage ◽  
Philippe Lefèvre ◽  
Gunnar Blohm
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Button Press ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Motion Direction ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Direction Discrimination ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Sensorimotor Transformations

AbstractRecent psychophysical and modeling studies have revealed that sensorimotor reference frame transformations (RFTs) add variability to motor output by decreasing the fidelity of sensory signals. How RFT stochasticity affects the sensory input underlying perceptual decisions, if at all, is unknown. To investigate this, we asked participants to perform a simple two-alternative motion direction discrimination task under varying conditions of head roll and/or stimulus rotation while responding either with a saccade or button press, allowing us to attribute behavioral effects to eye-, head- and shoulder-centered reference frames. We observed a rotation-induced, increase in reaction time and decrease in accuracy, indicating a degradation of motion evidence commensurate with a decrease in motion strength. Inter-participant differences in performance were best explained by a continuum of eye-head-shoulder representations of accumulated decision evidence, with eye- and shoulder-centered preferences during saccades and button presses, respectively. We argue that perceptual decision making and stochastic RFTs are inseparable, consistent with electrophysiological recordings in neural areas thought to be encoding sensorimotor signals for perceptual decisions. Furthermore, transformational stochasticity appears to be a generalized phenomenon, applicable throughout the perceptual and motor systems. We show for the first time that, by simply rolling one’s head, perceptual decision making is impaired in a way that is captured by stochastic RFTs.Significance statementWhen exploring our environment, we typically maintain upright head orientations, often even despite increased energy expenditure. One possible explanation for this apparently suboptimal behavior might come from the finding that sensorimotor transformations, required for generating geometrically-correct behavior, add signal- dependent variability (stochasticity) to perception and action. Here, we explore the functional interaction of stochastic transformations and perceptual decisions by rolling the head and/or stimulus during a motion direction discrimination task. We find that, during visuomotor rotations, perceptual decisions are significantly impaired in both speed and accuracy in a way that is captured by stochastic transformations. Thus, our findings suggest that keeping one’s head aligned with gravity is in fact ideal for making perceptual judgments about our environment.

scholarly journals A systematic investigation of differences in perceptual decision-making as a function of the time and method of participant recruitment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Ballard ◽  
Gina Fisher ◽  
David K. Sewell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Standard Stimulus ◽  
Brightness Discrimination ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Speed Accuracy

We examine the extent to which perceptual decision-making processes differ as a function of the time in the academic term in which the participant enrolls in the experiment and whether the participant is an undergraduate who completes the experiment for course credit, a paid participant who completes the experiment in the lab, or a paid participant recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk who completes the experiment online. In Study 1, we conducted a survey to examine cognitive psychologists' expectations regarding the quality of data obtained from these different groups of participants. We find that cognitive psychologists expect performance and response caution to be lowest among undergraduate participants who enroll at the end of the academic term, and highest among paid in-lab participants. Studies 2 and 3 tested these expectations using two common perceptual decision-making paradigms. Overall, we found little evidence for systematic time-of-term effects among undergraduate participants. The different participant groups responded to standard stimulus quality and speed/accuracy emphasis manipulations in similar ways. Among participants recruited via Mechanical Turk, the effect of speed/accuracy emphasis on response caution was strongest. This group also showed poorer discrimination performance than the other groups in a motion discrimination task, but not in a brightness discrimination task. We conclude that online crowdsourcing platforms can provide high quality perceptual decision-making data, but give recommendations for how data quality can be maximized when using these platforms for recruitment.

scholarly journals Behavioural and neural indices of perceptual decision-making in autistic children during visual motion tasks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Manning ◽  
Cameron Dale Hassall ◽  
Laurence Hunt ◽  
Anthony Norcia ◽  
Eric-Jan Wagenmakers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Motion Processing ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Diffusion Modelling ◽  
Evidence Accumulation

Many studies report atypical responses to sensory information in autistic individuals, yet it is not clear which stages of processing are affected, with little consideration given to decision-making processes. We combined diffusion modelling with high-density EEG to identify which processing stages differ between 50 autistic and 50 typically developing children aged 6-14 years during two visual motion tasks. Our pre-registered hypotheses were that autistic children would show task-dependent differences in sensory evidence accumulation, alongside a more cautious decision-making style and longer non-decision time across tasks. We tested these hypotheses using hierarchical Bayesian diffusion models with a rigorous blind modelling approach, finding no conclusive evidence for our hypotheses. Using a data-driven method, we identified a response-locked centro-parietal component previously linked to the decision-making process. The build-up in this component did not consistently relate to evidence accumulation in autistic children. This suggests that the relationship between the EEG measure and diffusion-modelling is not straightforward in autistic children. Compared to a related study of children with dyslexia, motion processing differences appear less pronounced in autistic children. Our results also provide weak evidence that ADHD symptoms moderate perceptual decision-making in autistic children.

scholarly journals Superior Colliculus Neuronal Ensemble Activity Signals Optimal Rather Than Subjective Confidence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Odegaard ◽  
Piercesare Grimaldi ◽  
Seong Hah Cho ◽  
Megan A.K. Peters ◽  
Hakwan Lau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Decision Accuracy ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Decision Confidence ◽  
Brain Signals ◽  
Subjective Confidence ◽  
The Brain

AbstractRecent studies suggest that neurons in sensorimotor circuits involved in perceptual decision-making also play a role in decision confidence. In these studies, confidence is often considered to be an optimal readout of the probability that a decision is correct. However, the information leading to decision accuracy and the report of confidence often co-varied, leaving open the possibility that there are actually two dissociable signal types in the brain: signals that correlate with decision accuracy (optimal confidence) and signals that correlate with subjects’ behavioral reports of confidence (subjective confidence). We recorded neuronal activity from a sensorimotor decision area, the superior colliculus (SC) of monkeys, while they performed two different tasks. In our first task, decision accuracy and confidence co-varied, as in previous studies. In our second task, we implemented a novel motion discrimination task with stimuli that were matched for decision accuracy but produced different levels of confidence as reflected by behavioral reports. We used a multivariate decoder to predict monkeys’ choices from neuronal population activity. As in previous studies on perceptual decision-making mechanisms, we found that neuronal decoding performance increased as decision accuracy increased. However, when decision accuracy was matched, performance of the decoder was similar between high and low subjective confidence conditions. These results show that the SC likely signals optimal decision confidence similar to previously reported cortical mechanisms, but is unlikely to play a critical role in subjective confidence. The results also motivate future investigations to determine where in the brain signals related to subjective confidence reside.Significance StatementConfidence is thought to reflect the rational or optimal belief concerning one’s choice accuracy. Here, we introduce a novel version of the dot-motion discrimination task with stimulus conditions that produce similar accuracy but different subjective behavioral reports of confidence. We decoded decision performance of this task from neuronal signals in the superior colliculus (SC), a subcortical region involved in decision-making. We found that SC activity signaled a perceptual decision for visual stimuli, with the strength of this activity reflecting decision accuracy, but not the subjective level of confidence as reflected by behavioral reports. These results demonstrate an important role for the SC in perceptual decision-making and challenge current ideas about how to measure subjective confidence in monkeys and humans.

Discarding optimality: Throwing out the baby with the bathwater?

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Simen ◽  
Fuat Balcı
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Reward Rate ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Standard Observer ◽  
Rate Maximization ◽  
Reward Rate Maximization ◽  
Descriptive Standard ◽  
Observer Model

AbstractRahnev & Denison (R&D) argue against normative theories and in favor of a more descriptive “standard observer model” of perceptual decision making. We agree with the authors in many respects, but we argue that optimality (specifically, reward-rate maximization) has proved demonstrably useful as a hypothesis, contrary to the authors’ claims.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document