Decision-making with multiple alternatives.

Full Abstract

Simple perceptual tasks have laid the groundwork for understanding the neurobiology of decision-making. Here, we examined this foundation to explain how decision-making circuitry adjusts in the face of a more difficult task. We measured behavioral and physiological responses of monkeys on a two- and four-choice direction-discrimination decision task. For both tasks, firing rates in the lateral intraparietal area appeared to reflect the accumulation of evidence for or against each choice. Evidence accumulation began at a lower firing rate for the four-choice task, but reached a common level by the end of the decision process. The larger excursion suggests that the subjects required more evidence before making a choice. Furthermore, on both tasks, we observed a time-dependent rise in firing rates that may impose a deadline for deciding. These physiological observations constitute an effective strategy for handling increased task difficulty. The differences appear to explain subjects' accuracy and reaction times.

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Author information

Author/s: Churchland, Anne K (AK); Kiani, Roozbeh (R); Shadlen, Michael N (MN);

Affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, National Primate Research Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. anne99(-atsign-)u.washington.edu

Grants: EY011378 (Agency:United States NEI) ; RR00166 (Agency:United States NCRR) ; (Agency:United States Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Nature neuroscience (Nat Neurosci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 11 (issue 6) : pp 693-702

Dates: Created 2008/05/28; Completed 2008/08/13;

PMID: 18488024, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Nat Neurosci. 2008 Jun;11(6):623-4. (PMID: 18506135)

ErratumIn: Nat Neurosci. 2008 Jul;11(7):851.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Action Potentials - physiology
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Decision Making - physiology
Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology
Eye Movements - physiology
Haplorhini

Motion
Neurons - physiology
Parietal Lobe - cytology
Reaction Time - physiology
Regression Analysis
Spatial Behavior - physiology
Task Performance and Analysis

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