Decision Making and Sequential Sampling from Memory

Shadlen, Michael N.; Shohamy, Daphna

doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2016.04.036

Cited by 373 publications

(362 citation statements)

References 155 publications

(193 reference statements)

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“…Likewise, a recent fMRI study has shown increased anterior prefrontal coupling with the hippocampus during remembering and planning upcoming trajectories to goal locations [5]. Oscillatory coupling between the posterior medial temporal lobe and rostrodorsal portions of mPFC has been observed during dynamic spatial imagery [45], and our data add further support that coupling between these regions could relate to comparison of novel choices with previous experience [38]. …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Decisions often rely on prospection during multi-step events in order to anticipate a potential outcome, which is a process commonly linked with hippocampal-based memory ([7,35–37]; see [38] for review). Furthermore, spatial planning in novel environments is usually associated with the use of a hippocampal-based internal model formed by exploration of the physical world [11], yet corresponding evidence of hippocampal involvement during on the fly planning without extensive prior learning has been lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Neural Representation of Prospective Choice during Spatial Planning and Decisions

et al. 2017

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We are remarkably adept at inferring the consequences of our actions, yet the neuronal mechanisms that allow us to plan a sequence of novel choices remain unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how the human brain plans the shortest path to a goal in novel mazes with one (shallow maze) or two (deep maze) choice points. We observed two distinct anterior prefrontal responses to demanding choices at the second choice point: one in rostrodorsal medial prefrontal cortex (rd-mPFC)/superior frontal gyrus (SFG) that was also sensitive to (deactivated by) demanding initial choices and another in lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), which was only engaged by demanding choices at the second choice point. Furthermore, we identified hippocampal responses during planning that correlated with subsequent choice accuracy and response time, particularly in mazes affording sequential choices. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses showed that coupling between the hippocampus and rd-mPFC increases during sequential (deep versus shallow) planning and is higher before correct versus incorrect choices. In short, using a naturalistic spatial planning paradigm, we reveal how the human brain represents sequential choices during planning without extensive training. Our data highlight a network centred on the cortical midline and hippocampus that allows us to make prospective choices while maintaining initial choices during planning in novel environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neural Representation of Prospective Choice during Spatial Planning and Decisions

et al. 2017

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“…S4). In our task, the momentary evidence entering into the accumulation process can be thought of as the difference between a noisy sample from a sensory representation of motion direction held in visual short-term memory and a fixed choice criterion (22). Under this account, the reliability of the sensory representation, controlled by coherence, and the placement of the choice criterion, controlled by distance, jointly determine the signal-to-noise ratio of evidence accumulation and thereby the probability that a choice is correct.…”

Section: Behavioural Validation Of Experimental Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct encoding of decision confidence in human medial prefrontal cortex

Bang

Fleming

2018

Preprint

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Our confidence in a choice and the reliability of evidence pertaining to that choice appear to be inseparable quantities. However, recent computational frameworks suggest that the brain should encode distinct estimates of these quantities for adaptive behavioural control. Consider a line judge in a tennis match deciding whether a ball is out. When the ball is moving quickly, the sensory signal is unreliable. Nevertheless, if the ball lands far from the line, a decision may be easy and confidence high. Decision confidence should reflect the probability that a choice is correct and must therefore, unlike other estimates of certainty such as evidence reliability, be flexibly conditioned on a choice. Here we devised a psychophysical approach to decouple confidence in a sensory choice from the reliability of the sensory evidence upon which a choice is based. Using human fMRI, we observed that an area in medial prefrontal cortex (perigenual cingulate cortex, pgACC) tracked probability correct, the normative definition of decision confidence, whereas neural areas previously thought to track decision confidence, such as ventral striatum and posterior parietal cortex, instead tracked sensory reliability. We show that pgACC activity does not simply co-vary with objective performance but is also linked to withinsubject and between-subject variation in a subjective sense of decision confidence. Our study is consistent with the recent proposal that the brain separately maintains choice-dependent and choice-independent estimates of certainty, and sheds light on why dysfunctional confidence estimates often emerge following prefrontal lesions and/or degeneration.

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“…Research foci have included the posterior parietal cortex (Glimcher et al, 2005; Louie et al, 2013), the hippocampus (Shadlen and Shohamy, 2016), and the role of visual attention (Hare et al, 2011; Krajbich et al, 2010). While these lines of investigation remain active, a series of recent breakthroughs links good-based decisions specifically to the activity of different neuronal populations in the OFC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orbitofrontal Cortex: A Neural Circuit for Economic Decisions

Padoa-Schioppa

Conen

2017

Neuron

261

180

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Economic choice behavior entails the computation and comparison of subjective values. A central contribution of neuroeconomics has been to show that subjective values are represented explicitly at the neuronal level. With this result at hand, the field has increasingly focused on the difficult question of where in the brain and how exactly subjective values are compared to make a decision. Here we review a broad range of experimental and theoretical results suggesting that good-based decisions are generated in a neural circuit within the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). The main lines of evidence supporting this proposal include the fact that goal-directed behavior is specifically disrupted by OFC lesions, the fact that different groups of neurons in this area encode the input and the output of the decision process, the fact that activity fluctuations in each of these cell groups correlate with choice variability, and the fact that these groups of neurons are computationally sufficient to generate decisions. Results from other brain regions are consistent with the idea that good-based decisions take place in OFC, and indicate that value signals inform a variety of mental functions. We also contrast the present proposal with other leading models for the neural mechanisms of economic decisions. Finally, we indicate open questions and suggest possible directions for future research.

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Decision Making and Sequential Sampling from Memory

Cited by 373 publications

References 155 publications

The Neural Representation of Prospective Choice during Spatial Planning and Decisions

The Neural Representation of Prospective Choice during Spatial Planning and Decisions

Distinct encoding of decision confidence in human medial prefrontal cortex

Orbitofrontal Cortex: A Neural Circuit for Economic Decisions

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