Direct observation of the neural computations underlying a single decision

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.90859.2
• Publication Date: 2024-07-29T14:47:27Z
• Authors: Natalie A Steinemann; Gabriel M Stine; Eric M Trautmann; Ariel Zylberberg; Daniel M Wolpert; Michael N Shadlen
• Keywords: Stimulus (psychology)

Neurobiological investigations of perceptual decision-making have furnished the first glimpse a flexible cognitive process at level single neurons (Shadlen and Newsome, 1996; Shadlen Kiani, 2013). Neurons in parietal prefrontal cortex (Kim Shadlen, 1999; Romo et al., 2004; Hernández 2002; Ding Gold, 2012) are thought to represent accumulation noisy evidence, acquired over time, leading decision. Neural recordings averaged many decisions provided support for deterministic rise activity termination bound (Roitman 2002). Critically, it is unobserved stochastic component that confer variability both choice decision time (Gold 2007). Here, we elucidate this drift-diffusion signal on individual decisions. We recorded simultaneously from hundreds lateral intraparietal (LIP) monkeys while they made about direction random dot motion. show scalar quantity, derived weighted sum population activity, represents combination drift diffusion. Moreover, provide direct hypothesis approximates quantity responsible reaction times. The population-derived signals rely small subset with response fields overlap targets. These integral evidence. Another direction-selective motion stimulus appear integrand. This parsimonious architecture would escape detection by state-space analyses, absent clear hypothesis.