Decision-Making under Uncertainty

Abstract

Decision neuroscience examines the neurobiological and computational foundations underlying decision-making. Economic decision-making, for example, about which item to purchase, is thought to depend on internal representations of subjective values related to the expected reward or punishment associated with an option. Economic choices typically involve risk due to inherent unpredictability of outcomes. Perceptual decision-making concerns choices based on sensory information under perceptual uncertainty about stimuli and environmental states, such as whether to drive or stop at a traffic light. Decision-making also requires responding to systematic environmental changes, which increases uncertainty substantially. We present common computational models and review behavioral and neurobiological findings of studies on these important concepts in perceptual and economic decision-making, as well as how these two classes of decision-making interact in natural settings.

Adaptive Integration of Perceptual and Reward Information in an Uncertain World

“…Like in classical perceptual decision-making paradigms, the task featured perceptual uncertainty about the Gabor patches (Gold & Stocker, 2017). Moreover, as in classical economic decision-making paradigms, rewards were delivered probabilistically, which is defined as risk or reward uncertainty (Bruckner & Nassar, 2024; Platt & Huettel, 2008; Rangel et al, 2008). On each trial, the patches had varying contrast-difference levels that were determined by a hidden state.…”

“…To do so, they need to first identify the available types of bread (states) based on perceptual information to then ascertain the expected taste of the options (expected value). This seemingly simple interplay of perceptual and economic decision-making becomes particularly challenging when perceptual information is ambiguous (perceptual uncertainty) or when outcomes are risky (reward uncertainty) (Bach & Dolan, 2012; Bruckner et al, 2020; Bruckner & Nassar, 2024; Daw, 2014; Ma & Jazayeri, 2014; Platt & Huettel, 2008; Summerfield & Tsetsos, 2012). For example, different loaves of bread might look very similar, yielding perceptual uncertainty.…”