scholarly journals Columnar Processing in Primate pFC: Evidence for Executive Control Microcircuits

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2334-2347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioan Opris ◽  
Robert E. Hampson ◽  
Greg A. Gerhardt ◽  
Theodore W. Berger ◽  
Sam A. Deadwyler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Cognitive Disorders ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Direct Demonstration ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
Multielectrode Recording

A common denominator for many cognitive disorders of human brain is the disruption of neural activity within pFC, whose structural basis is primarily interlaminar (columnar) microcircuits or “minicolumns.” The importance of this brain region for executive decision-making has been well documented; however, because of technological constraints, the minicolumnar basis is not well understood. Here, via implementation of a unique conformal multielectrode recording array, the role of interlaminar pFC minicolumns in the executive control of task-related target selection is demonstrated in nonhuman primates performing a visuomotor DMS task. The results reveal target-specific, interlaminar correlated firing during the decision phase of the trial between multielectrode recording array-isolated minicolumnar pairs of neurons located in parallel in layers 2/3 and layer 5 of pFC. The functional significance of individual pFC minicolumns (separated by 40 μm) was shown by reduced correlated firing between cell pairs within single minicolumns on error trials with inappropriate target selection. To further demonstrate dependence on performance, a task-disrupting drug (cocaine) was administered in the middle of the session, which also reduced interlaminar firing in minicolumns that fired appropriately in the early (nondrug) portion of the session. The results provide a direct demonstration of task-specific, real-time columnar processing in pFC indicating the role of this type of microcircuit in executive control of decision-making in primate brain.

The Role of the Subconscious in Executive Decision-Making

1967 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. B-519-B-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Ferber
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Executive Decision Making

Decision Arenas in Executive Decision Making: Cabinet Committees in Comparative Perspective

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas T. Mackie ◽  
Brian W. Hogwood
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
The Political ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
Presidential Systems

Decision making in political executives is an oddly neglected subject in political science. The roles played by both formal institutions and less formal mechanisms in arriving at decisions in political executives are surprisingly understudied. There have been some important comparative studies of political executives but these have tended to focus on the role of the head of the political executive – the president or prime minister. The distinctive nature of cabinet systems as against presidential systems has been well brought out but a comparative framework for the analysis of variations among cabinet systems in the role of decision arenas other than the full cabinet has not been developed. Blondel in his wide-ranging survey of government structures gives only a passing mention to cabinet committees. Accordingly, in seeking to place the roles of cabinet committees in perspective, we have found it necessary to develop our own framework of decision arenas in cabinet systems.

scholarly journals Climate refugees as the next era in globalisation process and the ground for re-shaping of world (dis)order

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-326
Author(s):  
Ivan Dujic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
The Common ◽  
Climate Refugees

In a fast-changing world, the process of globalisation imposes a long-term task: how to maintain or re-shape the existing world (dis)order. The aim of this paper is to point to the emergence of climate refugees in the context of refugee problems in general. The common denominator of all refugees is a risk of disrupting relationships and gradually undermining co-operation among states. This paper, however, emphasises the positive role of refugees in strengthening and revalorising of multiculturalism in the existing societies and states, as well as their contribution to the continuous process of globalisation. The second aim of the paper is to indicate the absence of the full authority of international organisations as decision-making centres. The important question and an acute problem as well, refer to the way in which societies and states, including Serbia, could be preserved as a historical outcome of the emergence of climate refugees who threaten, more than others, to destabilise their social structure.

scholarly journals Behavioural and neural signatures of perceptual evidence accumulation are modulated by pupil-linked arousal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochem van Kempen ◽  
Gerard M. Loughnane ◽  
Daniel P. Newman ◽  
Simon P. Kelly ◽  
Alexander Thiele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Pupil Diameter ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Attentional Engagement ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Processing Steps

AbstractThe timing and accuracy of perceptual decision making is exquisitely sensitive to fluctuations in arousal. Although extensive research has highlighted the role of neural evidence accumulation in forming decisions, our understanding of how arousal impacts these processes remains limited. Here we isolated electrophysiological signatures of evidence accumulation alongside signals reflecting target selection, attentional engagement and motor output and examined their modulation as a function of both tonic and phasic arousal, indexed by baseline and task-evoked pupil diameter, respectively. For both pupillometric measures, the relationship with reaction time was best described by a second-order, U-shaped, polynomial. Additionally, the two pupil measures were predictive of a unique set of EEG signatures that together represent multiple information processing steps of perceptual decision-making, including evidence accumulation. Finally, we found that behavioural variability associated with fluctuations in both tonic and phasic arousal was largely mediated by variability in evidence accumulation.

Distinct Patterns of Hippocampal and Neocortical Evolution in Primates

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Vanier ◽  
Chet C. Sherwood ◽  
Jeroen B. Smaers
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Hippocampal Formation ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Hippocampal Function ◽  
Fascia Dentata ◽  
Evolutionary Diversification ◽  
Rhinal Cortex ◽  
Executive Decision Making

Because of the central role of the hippocampus in representing spatial and temporal details of experience, comparative studies of its volume and structure are relevant to understanding the evolution of representational memory across species. The hippocampal formation, however, is organized into separate anatomical subregions with distinct functions, and little is known about the evolutionary diversification of these subregions. We investigate relative volumetric changes in hippocampal subregions across a large sample of primate species. We then compare the evolution of the hippocampal formation to the neocortex. Results across hippocampal subregions indicate that, compared to strepsirrhines, the anthropoid lineage displays a decrease in relative CA3, fascia dentata, subiculum, and rhinal cortex volume in tandem with an increase in relative neocortical volume. These findings indicate that hippocampal function in anthropoids might be substantially augmented by the executive decision-making functions of the neocortex. Humans are found to have a unique cerebral organization combining increased relative CA3, subiculum, and rhinal cortex with increased relative neocortical volumes, suggesting that these regions may play a role in behaviors that are uniquely specialized in humans.

scholarly journals Results account as a source of economic information / Rachunek wyników jako źródło informacji ekonomicznych

Management ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-381
Author(s):  
Edward Nowak
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Business Operation ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Financial Result

Summary Financial result is one of the fundamental economic categories subject to measurement within the accounting system. Financial result is a complex economic category, since its fluctuations are determined by expenses and revenues. The volume of financial results is related to activities in each of the individual areas of business operation and to selected external factors. Information on company results is of interest to all stakeholders, both internal and external, but the information requirements of each group are dissimilar. One common denominator here is the use of financial information in economic decision-making processes. This paper presents the role of results account as an important source of information used for decision-making purposes by company stakeholders, both external and internal.

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