scholarly journals The Role of Premature Evidence Accumulation in Making Difficult Perceptual Decisions under Temporal Uncertainty

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciara A. Devine ◽  
Christine Gaffney ◽  
Gerard Loughnane ◽  
Simon P. Kelly ◽  
Redmond G. O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Preceding Trial ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Joint Analysis ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Temporal Uncertainty ◽  
Onset Timing ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Statistical Regularities

AbstractThe computations and neural processes underpinning decision making have primarily been investigated using highly simplified tasks in which stimulus onsets cue observers to start accumulating choice-relevant information. Yet, in daily life we are rarely afforded the luxury of knowing precisely when choice-relevant information will appear. Here, we examined neural indices of decision formation while subjects discriminated subtle stimulus feature changes whose timing relative to stimulus onset (‘foreperiod’) was uncertain. Joint analysis of behavioral error patterns and neural decision signal dynamics indicated that subjects systematically began the accumulation process before any informative evidence was presented, and further, that accumulation onset timing varied systematically as a function of the foreperiod of the preceding trial. These results suggest that the brain can adjust to temporal uncertainty by strategically modulating accumulation onset timing according to statistical regularities in the temporal structure of the sensory environment with particular emphasis on recent experience.

scholarly journals The role of premature evidence accumulation in making difficult perceptual decisions under temporal uncertainty

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciara A Devine ◽  
Christine Gaffney ◽  
Gerard M Loughnane ◽  
Simon P Kelly ◽  
Redmond G O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Preceding Trial ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Joint Analysis ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Temporal Uncertainty ◽  
Onset Timing ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Statistical Regularities

The computations and neural processes underpinning decision making have primarily been investigated using highly simplified tasks in which stimulus onsets cue observers to start accumulating choice-relevant information. Yet, in daily life we are rarely afforded the luxury of knowing precisely when choice-relevant information will appear. Here, we examined neural indices of decision formation while subjects discriminated subtle stimulus feature changes whose timing relative to stimulus onset (‘foreperiod’) was uncertain. Joint analysis of behavioural error patterns and neural decision signal dynamics indicated that subjects systematically began the accumulation process before any informative evidence was presented, and further, that accumulation onset timing varied systematically as a function of the foreperiod of the preceding trial. These results suggest that the brain can adjust to temporal uncertainty by strategically modulating accumulation onset timing according to statistical regularities in the temporal structure of the sensory environment with particular emphasis on recent experience.

Neural Oscillation Correlates Chemistry Decision-Making

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Yu Huang ◽  
Hsiao-Ching She ◽  
Tzyy-Ping Jung
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Neural Oscillation ◽  
Beta Power ◽  
The Given

This study explored the electroencephalography (EEG) dynamics during a chemistry-related decision-making task and further examined whether the correctness of the decision-making performance could be reflected by EEG activity. A total of 66 undergraduate students’ EEG were collected while they participated in a chemistry-related decision-making task in which they had to retrieve the relevant chemistry concepts in order to make correct decisions for each task item. The results showed that it was only in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) cluster that distinct patterns in EEG dynamics were displayed for the correct and incorrect responses. The logistic regression results indicated that ACC theta power from 300[Formula: see text]ms to 250[Formula: see text]ms before stimulus onset was the most informative factor for estimating the likelihood of making correct decisions in the chemistry-related decision-making task, while it was the ACC low beta power from 150[Formula: see text]ms to 250[Formula: see text]ms after stimulus onset. The results suggested that the ACC theta augmentation before the stimulus onset serves to actively maintain the relevant information for retrieval from long-term memory, while the ACC low beta augmentation after the stimulus onset may serve the function of mapping the encoded stimulus onto the relevant criteria that the given participant has held within his or her mind to guide the decision-making responses.

scholarly journals Neural surprise in somatosensory Bayesian learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. e1008068
Author(s):  
Sam Gijsen ◽  
Miro Grundei ◽  
Robert T. Lange ◽  
Dirk Ostwald ◽  
Felix Blankenburg
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Learning ◽  
Model Updating ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Somatosensory Cortices ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Leaky Integration ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Tracking statistical regularities of the environment is important for shaping human behavior and perception. Evidence suggests that the brain learns environmental dependencies using Bayesian principles. However, much remains unknown about the employed algorithms, for somesthesis in particular. Here, we describe the cortical dynamics of the somatosensory learning system to investigate both the form of the generative model as well as its neural surprise signatures. Specifically, we recorded EEG data from 40 participants subjected to a somatosensory roving-stimulus paradigm and performed single-trial modeling across peri-stimulus time in both sensor and source space. Our Bayesian model selection procedure indicates that evoked potentials are best described by a non-hierarchical learning model that tracks transitions between observations using leaky integration. From around 70ms post-stimulus onset, secondary somatosensory cortices are found to represent confidence-corrected surprise as a measure of model inadequacy. Indications of Bayesian surprise encoding, reflecting model updating, are found in primary somatosensory cortex from around 140ms. This dissociation is compatible with the idea that early surprise signals may control subsequent model update rates. In sum, our findings support the hypothesis that early somatosensory processing reflects Bayesian perceptual learning and contribute to an understanding of its underlying mechanisms.

Processing of Sound Sequences in Macaque Auditory Cortex: Response Enhancement

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 1542-1559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Brosch ◽  
Andreas Schulz ◽  
Henning Scheich
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Evoked Response ◽  
Single Units ◽  
Frequency Separation ◽  
Induced Response ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Response Enhancement

It is well established that the tone-evoked response of neurons in auditory cortex can be attenuated if another tone is presented several hundred milliseconds before. The present study explores in detail a complementary phenomenon in which the tone-evoked response is enhanced by a preceding tone. Action potentials from multiunit groups and single units were recorded from primary and caudomedial auditory cortical fields in lightly anesthetized macaque monkeys. Stimuli were two suprathreshold tones of 100-ms duration, presented in succession. The frequency of the first tone and the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the two tones were varied systematically, whereas the second tone was fixed. Compared with presenting the second tone in isolation, the response to the second tone was enhanced significantly when it was preceded by the first tone. This was observed in 87 of 130 multiunit groups and in 29 of 69 single units with no obvious difference between different auditory fields. Response enhancement occurred for a wide range of SOA (110–329 ms) and for a wide range of frequencies of the first tone. Most of the first tones that enhanced the response to the second tone evoked responses themselves. The stimulus, which on average produced maximal enhancement, was a pair with a SOA of 120 ms and with a frequency separation of about one octave. The frequency/SOA combinations that induced response enhancement were mostly different from the ones that induced response attenuation. Results suggest that response enhancement, in addition to response attenuation, provides a basic neural mechanism involved in the cortical processing of the temporal structure of sounds.

scholarly journals Between Joy and Sympathy: Smiling and Sad Recipient Faces Increase Prosocial Behavior in the Dictator Game

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6172
Author(s):  
Martin Weiß ◽  
Grit Hein ◽  
Johannes Hewig
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Facial Expression ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Sequential Analysis ◽  
Dictator Game ◽  
Preceding Trial ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Allocation Decision ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Human Interactions

In human interactions, the facial expression of a bargaining partner may contain relevant information that affects prosocial decisions. We were interested in whether facial expressions of the recipient in the dictator game influence dictators’ behavior. To test this, we conducted an online study (n = 106) based on a modified version of a dictator game. The dictators allocated money between themselves and another person (recipient), who had no possibility to respond to the dictator. Importantly, before the allocation decision, the dictator was presented with the facial expression of the recipient (angry, disgusted, sad, smiling, or neutral). The results showed that dictators sent more money to recipients with sad or smiling facial expressions and less to recipients with angry or disgusted facial expressions compared with a neutral facial expression. Moreover, based on the sequential analysis of the decision and the interaction partner in the preceding trial, we found that decision-making depends upon previous interactions.

scholarly journals Undivided attention: The temporal effects of attention dissociated from decision, memory, and expectation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Moerel ◽  
Tijl Grootswagers ◽  
Amanda K. Robinson ◽  
Sophia M. Shatek ◽  
Alexandra Woolgar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Dynamic Effect ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Temporal Expectation ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Dynamic Processing

Selective attention prioritises relevant information amongst competing sensory input. Time-resolved electrophysiological studies have shown stronger representation of attended compared to unattended stimuli, which has been interpreted as an effect of attention on information coding. However, because attention is often manipulated by making only the attended stimulus a target to be remembered and/or responded to, many reported attention effects have been confounded with target-related processes such as visual short-term memory or decision-making. In addition, the effects of attention could be influenced by temporal expectation. The aim of this study was to investigate the dynamic effect of attention on visual processing using multivariate pattern analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data, while 1) controlling for target-related confounds, and 2) directly investigating the influence of temporal expectation. Participants viewed rapid sequences of overlaid oriented grating pairs at fixation while detecting a "target" grating of a particular orientation. We manipulated attention, one grating was attended and the other ignored, and temporal expectation, with stimulus onset timing either predictable or not. We controlled for target-related processing confounds by only analysing non-target trials. Both attended and ignored gratings were initially coded equally in the pattern of responses across EEG sensors. An effect of attention, with preferential coding of the attended stimulus, emerged approximately 230ms after stimulus onset. This attention effect occurred even when controlling for target-related processing confounds, and regardless of stimulus onset predictability. These results provide insight into the effect of attention on the dynamic processing of competing visual information, presented at the same time and location.

scholarly journals Mesencephalic representations of recent experience influence decision making

eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A Thompson ◽  
Jamie D Costabile ◽  
Gidon Felsen
Keyword(s):  
Action Selection ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Previous Trial ◽  
Sensory Cues ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Recent Trial ◽  
Tegmental Nucleus ◽  
Trial History

Decisions are influenced by recent experience, but the neural basis for this phenomenon is not well understood. Here, we address this question in the context of action selection. We focused on activity in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg), a mesencephalic region that provides input to several nuclei in the action selection network, in well-trained mice selecting actions based on sensory cues and recent trial history. We found that, at the time of action selection, the activity of many PPTg neurons reflected the action on the previous trial and its outcome, and the strength of this activity predicted the upcoming choice. Further, inactivating the PPTg predictably decreased the influence of recent experience on action selection. These findings suggest that PPTg input to downstream motor regions, where it can be integrated with other relevant information, provides a simple mechanism for incorporating recent experience into the computations underlying action selection.

scholarly journals Influence of learning strategy on response time during complex value-based learning and choice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva Farashahi ◽  
Katherine Rowe ◽  
Zohra Aslami ◽  
M Ida Gobbini ◽  
Alireza Soltani
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Response Time ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Preceding Trial ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Trial Basis ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
The Difference

AbstractMeasurements of response time (RT) have long been used to infer neural processes underlying various cognitive functions such as working memory, attention, and decision making. However, it is currently unknown if RT is also informative about various stages of value-based choice, particularly how reward values are constructed. To investigate these questions, we analyzed the pattern of RT during a set of multi-dimensional learning and decision-making tasks that can prompt subjects to adopt different learning strategies. In our experiments, subjects could use reward feedback to directly learn reward values associated with possible choice options (object-based learning). Alternatively, they could learn reward values of options’ features (e.g. color, shape) and combine these values to estimate reward values for individual options (feature-based learning). We found that RT was slower when the difference between subjects’ estimates of reward probabilities for the two alternative objects on a given trial was smaller. Moreover, RT was overall faster when the preceding trial was rewarded or when the previously selected object was present. These effects, however, were mediated by an interaction between these factors such that subjects were faster when the previously selected object was present rather than absent but only after unrewarded trials. Finally, RT reflected the learning strategy (i.e. object-based or feature-based approach) adopted by the subject on a trial-by-trial basis, indicating an overall faster construction of reward value and/or value comparison during object-based learning. Altogether, these results demonstrate that the pattern of RT can be informative about how reward values are learned and constructed during complex value-based learning and decision making.

scholarly journals Cognitive modelling reveals distinct electrophysiological markers of decision confidence and error monitoring

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Rausch ◽  
Michael Zehetleitner ◽  
Marco Steinhauser ◽  
Martin E. Maier
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Onset Asynchrony ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Cognitive Modelling ◽  
Error Awareness ◽  
Decision Confidence ◽  
Metacognitive Processes ◽  
Statistical Pattern ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Onset Asynchrony

AbstractIs confidence in perceptual decisions generated by the same brain processes as decision itself, or does confidence require metacognitive processes following up on the decision? In a masked orientation task with varying stimulus-onset-asynchrony, we used EEG and cognitive modelling to trace the timing of the neural correlates of confidence. Confidence as reported by observers increased with stimulus-onset-asynchrony in correct and to a lesser degree in incorrect trials, a pattern incompatible with established models of confidence. Electrophysiological activity in two different time periods was associated with confidence, namely, 350 – 500 ms after stimulus onset and 250 – 350 ms after the response. Cognitive modelling revealed that only the activity following on the stimulus exhibited the same statistical regularities as confidence, while the statistical pattern of the activity following the response was not compatible with confidence. It is argued that electrophysiological markers of decision confidence and error awareness are at least in parts distinct.

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