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Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation

Primate studies show slow ramping activity in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) neurons during perceptual decision-making. These findings have inspired a rich theoretical literature to account for this activity. These accounts are largely unrelated to Bayesian theories of perception and predictive cod...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: FitzGerald, Thomas H.B., Moran, Rosalyn J., Friston, Karl J., Dolan, Raymond J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Academic Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306525/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25512038
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.015
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author FitzGerald, Thomas H.B.
Moran, Rosalyn J.
Friston, Karl J.
Dolan, Raymond J.
author_facet FitzGerald, Thomas H.B.
Moran, Rosalyn J.
Friston, Karl J.
Dolan, Raymond J.
author_sort FitzGerald, Thomas H.B.
collection PubMed
description Primate studies show slow ramping activity in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) neurons during perceptual decision-making. These findings have inspired a rich theoretical literature to account for this activity. These accounts are largely unrelated to Bayesian theories of perception and predictive coding, a related formulation of perceptual inference in the cortical hierarchy. Here, we tested a key prediction of such hierarchical inference, namely that the estimated precision (reliability) of information ascending the cortical hierarchy plays a key role in determining both the speed of decision-making and the rate of increase of PPC activity. Using dynamic causal modelling of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) evoked responses, recorded during a simple perceptual decision-making task, we recover ramping-activity from an anatomically and functionally plausible network of regions, including early visual cortex, the middle temporal area (MT) and PPC. Precision, as reflected by the gain on pyramidal cell activity, was strongly correlated with both the speed of decision making and the slope of PPC ramping activity. Our findings indicate that the dynamics of neuronal activity in the human PPC during perceptual decision-making recapitulate those observed in the macaque, and in so doing we link observations from primate electrophysiology and human choice behaviour. Moreover, the synaptic gain control modulating these dynamics is consistent with predictive coding formulations of evidence accumulation.
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spelling pubmed-43065252015-02-15 Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation FitzGerald, Thomas H.B. Moran, Rosalyn J. Friston, Karl J. Dolan, Raymond J. Neuroimage Article Primate studies show slow ramping activity in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) neurons during perceptual decision-making. These findings have inspired a rich theoretical literature to account for this activity. These accounts are largely unrelated to Bayesian theories of perception and predictive coding, a related formulation of perceptual inference in the cortical hierarchy. Here, we tested a key prediction of such hierarchical inference, namely that the estimated precision (reliability) of information ascending the cortical hierarchy plays a key role in determining both the speed of decision-making and the rate of increase of PPC activity. Using dynamic causal modelling of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) evoked responses, recorded during a simple perceptual decision-making task, we recover ramping-activity from an anatomically and functionally plausible network of regions, including early visual cortex, the middle temporal area (MT) and PPC. Precision, as reflected by the gain on pyramidal cell activity, was strongly correlated with both the speed of decision making and the slope of PPC ramping activity. Our findings indicate that the dynamics of neuronal activity in the human PPC during perceptual decision-making recapitulate those observed in the macaque, and in so doing we link observations from primate electrophysiology and human choice behaviour. Moreover, the synaptic gain control modulating these dynamics is consistent with predictive coding formulations of evidence accumulation. Academic Press 2015-02-15 /pmc/articles/PMC4306525/ /pubmed/25512038 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.015 Text en © 2014 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
FitzGerald, Thomas H.B.
Moran, Rosalyn J.
Friston, Karl J.
Dolan, Raymond J.
Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title_full Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title_fullStr Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title_full_unstemmed Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title_short Precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
title_sort precision and neuronal dynamics in the human posterior parietal cortex during evidence accumulation
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306525/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25512038
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.12.015
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