A successful class of models link decision-making to brain signals by assuming that evidence accumulates to a decision threshold. These evidence accumulation models have identified neuronal activity that appears to reflect sensory evidence and decision variables that drive behavior. More recently, an additional evidence-independent and time-variant signal, called urgency, has been hypothesized to accelerate decisions in the face of insufficient evidence. However, most decision-making paradigms tested with fMRI or EEG in humans have not been designed to disentangle evidence accumulation from urgency. Here we use a face-morphing decision-making task in combination with EEG and a hierarchical Bayesian model to identify neural signals related to sensory and decision variables, and to test the urgency-gating model. Forty females and 34 males took part (mean age, 23.4 years). We find that an evoked potential time locked to the decision, the centroparietal positivity, reflects the decision variable from the computational model. We further show that the unfolding of this signal throughout the decision process best reflects the product of sensory evidence and an evidence-independent urgency signal. Urgency varied across subjects, suggesting that it may represent an individual trait. Our results show that it is possible to use EEG to distinguish neural signals related to sensory evidence accumulation, decision variables, and urgency. These mechanisms expose principles of cognitive function in general and may have applications to the study of pathologic decision-making such as in impulse control and addictive disorders. Perceptual decisions are often described by a class of models that assumes that sensory evidence accumulates gradually over time until a decision threshold is reached. In the present study, we demonstrate that an additional urgency signal impacts how decisions are formed. This endogenous signal encourages one to respond as time elapses. We found that neural decision signals measured by EEG reflect the product of sensory evidence and an evidence-independent urgency signal. A nuanced understanding of human decisions, and the neural mechanisms that support it, can improve decision-making in many situations and potentially ameliorate dysfunction when it has gone awry.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2551-20.2021 | DOI Listing |
iScience
January 2025
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland.
The recognition of conspecifics, animals of the same species, and keeping track of changes in the social environment is essential to all animals. While molecules, circuits, and brain regions that control social behaviors across species are studied in-depth, the neural mechanisms that enable the recognition of social cues are largely obscure. Recent evidence suggests that social cues across sensory modalities converge in a thalamic area conserved across vertebrates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Pain Res
January 2025
School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Purpose: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a debilitating chronic pain condition characterized by sensory, motor, and autonomic dysfunction with a world-wide prevalence of 26.2 per 100,000 people per year and is 3 to 4 times more prevalent in females. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown to be beneficial for pain relief in neuropathic pain and initial evidence in CRPS is promising, but studies are limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Biol
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Human behavior is strongly influenced by anticipation, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We obtained intracranial electrocephalography (iEEG) measurements in neurosurgical patients as they performed a simple sensory-motor task with variable (short or long) foreperiod delays that affected anticipation of the cue to respond. Participants showed two forms of anticipatory response biases, distinguished by more premature false alarms (FAs) or faster response times (RTs) on long-delay trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Le Verseau Inc., Tokyo, 156-0051, Japan.
Scientific research on forest therapy's preventive medical and mental health effects has advanced, but the need for clear evidence for practical applications remains. We conducted an unblinded randomized controlled trial involving healthy men aged 40-70 to compare the physiological and psychological effects of forest and urban walking. Eighty-four participants were randomly assigned to either the forest or urban group, with 78 completing 90-min walks and analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
January 2025
CIISA-Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisboa, Portugal.
Meat lipids are determinants of the nutritional, sensory and physiological qualities of meat, encompassing triglycerides, phospholipids, cholesterol and bioactive compounds. These lipids provide essential fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, critical for metabolic regulation, inflammation control and cognitive health. However, the dual role of meat lipids as essential nutrients and potential contributors to health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and oxidative stress, necessitates a nuanced understanding.
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