Quantifying decision-making in dynamic, continuously evolving environments

Ruesseler, Maria; Weber, Lilian Aline; Marshall, Tom Rhys; O'Reilly, Jill; Hunt, Laurence Tudor

doi:10.7554/elife.82823

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Novel approaches are therefore needed to test the evidence accumulation hypothesis against alternative non-integration models 73,74 . Along those lines, some studies have employed repeated stimulus presentations to better characterize how signatures of evidence accumulation evolve with each piece of evidence 75,76 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common neural choice signals can emerge artifactually amidst multiple distinct value signals

Frömer

Nassar

Ehinger

et al. 2022

Preprint

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A large body of work has identified characteristic neural signatures of value-based decision-making. A core circuit has been shown to track the values of options under consideration, and the dynamics of neural activity associated with this circuit have been found to closely resemble the ramping evidence accumulation process believed to underpin goal-directed choice, most notably in the centroparietal positivity (CPP). However, recent neuroimaging studies suggest that value-based choices trigger multiple value-related neural signatures, some of which are unrelated to decision-making per se but instead reflect reflexive affective reactions to one's options. Here, we use the temporal resolution of EEG to test whether choice-independent value signals could be dissociated from well-known temporal signatures of the choice process. We show that EEG activity during value-based choice can be decomposed into distinct spatiotemporal clusters, one stimulus-locked (associated with the affective salience of a choice set) and one response-locked (associated with the difficulty of selecting the best option). We show that neither of these clusters meet the criteria for an evidence accumulation signal. Instead, and to our surprise, we found that stimulus-locked activity can mimic an evidence accumulation process when aligned to the response (as with the CPP). In this dataset and a second one that uses a more traditional perceptual decision-making task, we show that the CPP's apparent pattern of evidence accumulation disappears when stimulus-locked and response-locked signals are accounted for jointly. Collectively, our findings show that neural signatures of value can reflect choice-independent processes that when analyzed using standard approaches, can look deceptively like evidence accumulation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common neural choice signals can emerge artifactually amidst multiple distinct value signals

Frömer

Nassar

Ehinger

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To examine changes in the estimate distribution without assuming a particular shape for the distribution, we used permutation based cluster mass tests (Maris and Oostenveld, 2007) used to examine significant clusters in previous studies (Balsdon et al, 2020; Ruesseler et al, 2023; Sarasso et al, 2022; Vetter et al, 2019). This allowed us to detect non-parametric shifts in the estimate distributions from pretest to posttest.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual learning improves discrimination while distorting appearance

Szpiro

Burlingham

Simoncelli

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Perceptual learning, a form of adult brain plasticity that produces improved discrimination, has been studied in various tasks and senses. However, it is unknown whether and how this improved discrimination alters stimulus appearance. Here, in addition to a discrimination task, we used an estimation task to investigate how training affects stimulus appearance in human adults. Before and after training, observers were shown stimuli composed of dots moving slightly clockwise or counter-clockwise horizontal, whose appearance has been shown to be biased away from horizontal. Observers were subdivided into three groups: Those who (1) trained in a discrimination task; (2) trained in an estimation task; (3) did not train. Training improved discrimination accuracy and decreased coherence thresholds. Counterintuitively, training also distorted appearance, substantially exacerbating estimation biases. These changes occurred in both training groups (but not in the no-training control group), suggesting a common learning mechanism. We developed a computational observer model that simulates performance on both discrimination and estimation tasks. The model incorporates three components: (1) the internal representation favors cardinal motion directions, which are most common in the natural environment; (2) in the estimation task, observers implicitly categorize motion, conditioning their estimates on this; and (3) both types of training induce an increase in the precision of representation of trained motions. We find that the simulations of the model, fit to individual observer data, can account for their improved discrimination and increased estimation bias. We conclude that perceptual learning improves discrimination while simultaneously distorting appearance.

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Common neural choice signals can emerge artefactually amid multiple distinct value signals

Frömer,

Nassar,

Ehinger

et al. 2024

Nat Hum Behav

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Previous work has identified characteristic neural signatures of value-based decision-making, including neural dynamics that closely resemble the ramping evidence accumulation process believed to underpin choice. Here we test whether these signatures of the choice process can be temporally dissociated from additional, choice-‘independent’ value signals. Indeed, EEG activity during value-based choice revealed distinct spatiotemporal clusters, with a stimulus-locked cluster reflecting affective reactions to choice sets and a response-locked cluster reflecting choice difficulty. Surprisingly, ‘neither’ of these clusters met the criteria for an evidence accumulation signal. Instead, we found that stimulus-locked activity can ‘mimic’ an evidence accumulation process when aligned to the response. Re-analysing four previous studies, including three perceptual decision-making studies, we show that response-locked signatures of evidence accumulation disappear when stimulus-locked and response-locked activity are modelled jointly. Collectively, our findings show that neural signatures of value can reflect choice-independent processes and look deceptively like evidence accumulation.

show abstract

Quantifying decision-making in dynamic, continuously evolving environments

Cited by 5 publications

References 69 publications

Common neural choice signals can emerge artifactually amidst multiple distinct value signals

Common neural choice signals can emerge artifactually amidst multiple distinct value signals

Perceptual learning improves discrimination while distorting appearance

Common neural choice signals can emerge artefactually amid multiple distinct value signals

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