scholarly journals Age-related deficits in rapid visuomotor decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Gómez-Granados ◽  
Deborah A Barany ◽  
Margaret Schrayer ◽  
Isaac L. Kurtzer ◽  
Cédrick T Bonnet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Dorsal Stream ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Induced Changes

Many goal-directed actions that require rapid visuomotor planning and perceptual decision-making are affected in older adults, causing difficulties in execution of many functional activities of daily living. Visuomotor planning and perceptual decision-making are mediated by the dorsal and ventral visual streams, respectively, but it is unclear how age-induced changes in sensory processing in these streams contribute to declines in goal-directed actions. Previously, we have shown that in healthy adults, task demands influence movement strategies during visuomotor decision-making, reflecting differential integration of sensory information between the two streams. Here, we asked the question if older adults would exhibit larger declines in interactions between the two streams during demanding motor tasks. Older adults (n=15) and young controls (n=26) performed reaching or interception movements towards virtual objects. In some blocks of trials, participants also had to select an appropriate movement goal based on the shape of the object. Our results showed that older adults corrected fewer initial decision errors during both reaching and interception movements. During the interception decision task, older adults made more decision- and execution-related errors than young adults, which were related to early initiation of their movements. Together, these results suggest that older adults have a reduced ability to integrate new perceptual information to guide online action, which may reflect impaired ventral-dorsal stream interactions.

scholarly journals Age-related deficits in rapid visuomotor decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Gómez-Granados ◽  
Deborah A. Barany ◽  
Margaret Schrayer ◽  
Isaac Kurtzer ◽  
Cédrick Bonnet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
List Type ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Initial Decision ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Decision Errors

AbstractMany goal-directed actions that require rapid visuomotor planning and perceptual decision-making are affected in older adults, causing difficulties in execution of many functional activities of daily living. Visuomotor planning and perceptual decision-making are mediated by the dorsal and ventral visual streams, respectively, but it is unclear how age-induced changes in sensory processing in these streams contribute to declines in goal-directed actions. Previously, we have shown that in healthy adults task demands affect the integration of sensory information between the two streams and more motorically demanding tasks induce earlier decisions and more decision errors. Here, we asked the question if older adults would exhibit larger declines in interactions between the two streams during demanding motor tasks. Older adults (n=15) and young controls (n=26) performed a simple reaching task and a more demanding interception task towards virtual objects. In some blocks of trials, participants also had to select an appropriate movement based on the shape of the object. Our results showed that older adults made a similar number of initial decision errors during both the reaching and interception tasks but corrected fewer of those errors during movement. During the more demanding interception decision task, older adults made more decision- and execution-related errors than young adults, which were related to early initiation of their movements. Together, these results suggest that older adults have a reduced ability to integrate new perceptual information to guide online action, which may reflect impaired ventral-dorsal stream interactions.HighlightsOlder adults showed reduced performance in a visuomotor decision-making taskInitial decision errors were similar between young and older adultsOlder adults were less likely to correct initial decision errorsMore demanding movements were associated with earlier and less accurate decisions

Age-Related Differences in the Acquisition and Transfer of Perceptual Decision-Making Skills

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Spaulding ◽  
Donita A. Phipps
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Stress Conditions ◽  
Perceptual Task ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Time Stress ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Better Than

Younger and older participants were trained to perform a computerized football task. Half of the participants received rule-based training and the remainder received color enhancements in alternating blocks. Both younger and older adults improved RT performance, with the younger participants performing about twice as fast as the older participants. The participants transferred to Novel, Cluttered and Time-Stress conditions. The effect of training type (rules better than enhancements) failed to persist during transfer. Age-related impairments of RT and overall accuracy persisted during transfer, although older participants maintained a higher primary accuracy (except for Time-Stress). Their performance plummeted during the Time-Stress, but improved across the blocks. During the subsequent baseline block, primary accuracy returned to the pre-Cluttered level and RT slightly declined. These results suggest that the older participants changed strategies under time stress, and with more practice, their performance on this complex perceptual task may increase dramatically.

scholarly journals Sensor-Level Wavelet Analysis Reveals EEG Biomarkers of Perceptual Decision-Making

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2461
Author(s):  
Alexander Kuc ◽  
Vadim V. Grubov ◽  
Vladimir A. Maksimenko ◽  
Natalia Shusharina ◽  
Alexander N. Pisarchik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Perceptual Process ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Band Power ◽  
Sensory Features

Perceptual decision-making requires transforming sensory information into decisions. An ambiguity of sensory input affects perceptual decisions inducing specific time-frequency patterns on EEG (electroencephalogram) signals. This paper uses a wavelet-based method to analyze how ambiguity affects EEG features during a perceptual decision-making task. We observe that parietal and temporal beta-band wavelet power monotonically increases throughout the perceptual process. Ambiguity induces high frontal beta-band power at 0.3–0.6 s post-stimulus onset. It may reflect the increasing reliance on the top-down mechanisms to facilitate accumulating decision-relevant sensory features. Finally, this study analyzes the perceptual process using mixed within-trial and within-subject design. First, we found significant percept-related changes in each subject and then test their significance at the group level. Thus, observed beta-band biomarkers are pronounced in single EEG trials and may serve as control commands for brain-computer interface (BCI).

scholarly journals Reconciling age-related changes in behavioural and neural indices of human perceptual decision-making

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 955-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. McGovern ◽  
Aoife Hayes ◽  
Simon P. Kelly ◽  
Redmond G. O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

scholarly journals Brain Areas Consistently Linked to Individual Differences in Perceptual Decision-making in Younger as well as Older Adults before and after Training

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2147-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Kühn ◽  
Florian Schmiedek ◽  
Björn Schott ◽  
Roger Ratcliff ◽  
Hans-Jochen Heinze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Drift Rate ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Inferior Parietal Lobe ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Boundary Separation ◽  
Before And After

Perceptual decision-making performance depends on several cognitive and neural processes. Here, we fit Ratcliff's diffusion model to accuracy data and reaction-time distributions from one numerical and one verbal two-choice perceptual-decision task to deconstruct these performance measures into the rate of evidence accumulation (i.e., drift rate), response criterion setting (i.e., boundary separation), and peripheral aspects of performance (i.e., nondecision time). These theoretical processes are then related to individual differences in brain activation by means of multiple regression. The sample consisted of 24 younger and 15 older adults performing the task in fMRI before and after 100 daily 1-hr behavioral training sessions in a multitude of cognitive tasks. Results showed that individual differences in boundary separation were related to striatal activity, whereas differences in drift rate were related to activity in the inferior parietal lobe. These associations were not significantly modified by adult age or perceptual expertise. We conclude that the striatum is involved in regulating response thresholds, whereas the inferior parietal lobe might represent decision-making evidence related to letters and numbers.

scholarly journals Dissociating the Impact of Movement Time and Energy Costs on Decision-Making and Action Initiation in Humans

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Saleri Lunazzi ◽  
Amélie J. Reynaud ◽  
David Thura
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Movement Initiation ◽  
Time Condition ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Action Initiation

Recent theories and data suggest that adapted behavior involves economic computations during which multiple trade-offs between reward value, accuracy requirement, energy expenditure, and elapsing time are solved so as to obtain rewards as soon as possible while spending the least possible amount of energy. However, the relative impact of movement energy and duration costs on perceptual decision-making and movement initiation is poorly understood. Here, we tested 31 healthy subjects on a perceptual decision-making task in which they executed reaching movements to report probabilistic choices. In distinct blocks of trials, the reaching duration (“Time” condition) and energy (“Effort” condition) costs were independently varied compared to a “Reference” block, while decision difficulty was maintained similar at the block level. Participants also performed a simple delayed-reaching (DR) task aimed at estimating movement initiation duration in each motor condition. Results in that DR task show that long duration movements extended reaction times (RTs) in most subjects, whereas energy-consuming movements led to mixed effects on RTs. In the decision task, about half of the subjects decreased their decision durations (DDs) in the Time condition, while the impact of energy on DDs were again mixed across subjects. Decision accuracy was overall similar across motor conditions. These results indicate that movement duration and, to a lesser extent, energy expenditure, idiosyncratically affect perceptual decision-making and action initiation. We propose that subjects who shortened their choices in the time-consuming condition of the decision task did so to limit a drop of reward rate.

scholarly journals Evidence against perfect integration of sensory information during perceptual decision making

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 915-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Carland ◽  
Encarni Marcos ◽  
David Thura ◽  
Paul Cisek
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Pass Filter ◽  
Low Pass Filter ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Low Pass

Perceptual decision making is often modeled as perfect integration of sequential sensory samples until the accumulated total reaches a fixed decision bound. In that view, the buildup of neural activity during perceptual decision making is attributed to temporal integration. However, an alternative explanation is that sensory estimates are computed quickly with a low-pass filter and combined with a growing signal reflecting the urgency to respond and it is the latter that is primarily responsible for neural activity buildup. These models are difficult to distinguish empirically because they make similar predictions for tasks in which sensory information is constant within a trial, as in most previous studies. Here we presented subjects with a variant of the classic constant-coherence motion discrimination (CMD) task in which we inserted brief motion pulses. We examined the effect of these pulses on reaction times (RTs) in two conditions: 1) when the CMD trials were blocked and subjects responded quickly and 2) when the same CMD trials were interleaved among trials of a variable-motion coherence task that motivated slower decisions. In the blocked condition, early pulses had a strong effect on RTs but late pulses did not, consistent with both models. However, when subjects slowed their decision policy in the interleaved condition, later pulses now became effective while early pulses lost their efficacy. This last result contradicts models based on perfect integration of sensory evidence and implies that motion signals are processed with a strong leak, equivalent to a low-pass filter with a short time constant.

scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Evidence and Urgency During Human Perceptual Decision-Making in Dynamically Changing Conditions

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 5471-5483
Author(s):  
Y Yau ◽  
M Dadar ◽  
M Taylor ◽  
Y Zeighami ◽  
L K Fellows ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Primate Research ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Current models of decision-making assume that the brain gradually accumulates evidence and drifts toward a threshold that, once crossed, results in a choice selection. These models have been especially successful in primate research; however, transposing them to human fMRI paradigms has proved it to be challenging. Here, we exploit the face-selective visual system and test whether decoded emotional facial features from multivariate fMRI signals during a dynamic perceptual decision-making task are related to the parameters of computational models of decision-making. We show that trial-by-trial variations in the pattern of neural activity in the fusiform gyrus reflect facial emotional information and modulate drift rates during deliberation. We also observed an inverse-urgency signal based in the caudate nucleus that was independent of sensory information but appeared to slow decisions, particularly when information in the task was ambiguous. Taken together, our results characterize how decision parameters from a computational model (i.e., drift rate and urgency signal) are involved in perceptual decision-making and reflected in the activity of the human brain.

scholarly journals Re-thinking the fixed-criterion model of perceptual decision-making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Laura Lee ◽  
Rachel N. Denison ◽  
Wei Ji Ma
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Probabilistic Reasoning ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Feature Space ◽  
Decision Criterion ◽  
Decision Variable ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Response Variance ◽  
Sensory Uncertainty

Perceptual decision-making is often conceptualized as the process of comparing an internal decision variable to a categorical boundary, or criterion. How the mind sets such a criterion has been studied from at least two perspectives. First, researchers interested in consciousness have proposed that criterion-crossing determines whether a stimulus is consciously perceived. Second, researchers interested in decision-making have studied how the criterion depends on a range of stimulus and task variables. Both communities have considered the question of how the criterion behaves when sensory information is weak or uncertain. Interestingly, however, they have arrived at different conclusions. Consciousness researchers investigating a phenomenon called "subjective inflation" – a form of metacognitive mismatch in which observers overestimate the quality of their sensory representations in the periphery or at an unattended location – have proposed that the criterion governing subjective visibility is fixed. That is, it does not adjust to changes in sensory uncertainty. Decision-making researchers, on the other hand, have concluded that the criterion does adjust to account for sensory uncertainty, including under inattention. Here, we mathematically demonstrate that previous empirical findings supporting subjective inflation are consistent with either a fixed or a flexible decision criterion. We further show that specific experimental task requirements are necessary to make inferences about the flexibility of the criterion: 1) a clear mapping from decision variable space to stimulus feature space, and 2) a task incentive for observers to adjust their decision criterion as response variance increases. We conclude that the fixed-criterion model of subjective inflation requires re-thinking in light of new evidence from the probabilistic reasoning literature that decision criteria flexibly adjust according to response variance.

scholarly journals The Functional Anatomy of a Perceptual Decision in the Human Brain

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 1179-1194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Kayser ◽  
Bradley R. Buchsbaum ◽  
Drew T. Erickson ◽  
Mark D'Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Functional Anatomy ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Visuomotor Integration ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Accumulator Models

Our ability to make rapid decisions based on sensory information belies the complexity of the underlying computations. Recently, “accumulator” models of decision making have been shown to explain the activity of parietal neurons as macaques make judgments concerning visual motion. Unraveling the operation of a decision-making circuit, however, involves understanding both the responses of individual components in the neural circuitry and the relationships between them. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the decision process in humans, we demonstrate that an accumulator model predicts responses to visual motion in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Significantly, the metrics used to define responses within the IPS also reveal distinct but interacting nodes in a circuit, including early sensory detectors in visual cortex, the visuomotor integration system of the IPS, and centers of cognitive control in the prefrontal cortex, all of which collectively define a perceptual decision-making network.

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