Decoding and perturbing decision states in real time

Diogo Peixoto; Jessica R Verhein; Roozbeh Kiani; Jonathan C Kao; Paul Nuyujukian; Chandramouli Chandrasekaran; Julian Brown; Sania Fong; Stephen I Ryu; Krishna V Shenoy; William T Newsome

doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03181-9

Decoding and perturbing decision states in real time

Nature. 2021 Mar;591(7851):604-609. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03181-9. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Authors

Diogo Peixoto^#^{1

2

3}, Jessica R Verhein^#^{4

5

6}, Roozbeh Kiani⁷, Jonathan C Kao^{8

9

10

11}, Paul Nuyujukian^{8

9

12

13

14}, Chandramouli Chandrasekaran^{8

9

15

16

17}, Julian Brown^{18

8}, Sania Fong^{18

8}, Stephen I Ryu^{9

19}, Krishna V Shenoy^{18

8

9

12

14

15}, William T Newsome^{20

21

22}

Affiliations

¹ Neurobiology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. dpeixoto@stanford.edu.
² Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Lisbon, Portugal. dpeixoto@stanford.edu.
³ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. dpeixoto@stanford.edu.
⁴ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. jverhein@stanford.edu.
⁵ Neurosciences Graduate Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. jverhein@stanford.edu.
⁶ Medical Scientist Training Program, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. jverhein@stanford.edu.
⁷ Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁹ Electrical Engineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹¹ Neurosciences Program, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
¹² Bioengineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹³ Neurosurgery Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁴ Bio-X Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁵ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Neurobiology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹⁹ Neurosurgery Department, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
²⁰ Neurobiology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. bnewsome@stanford.edu.
²¹ Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. bnewsome@stanford.edu.
²² Bio-X Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. bnewsome@stanford.edu.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33473215
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03181-9

Abstract

In dynamic environments, subjects often integrate multiple samples of a signal and combine them to reach a categorical judgment¹. The process of deliberation can be described by a time-varying decision variable (DV), decoded from neural population activity, that predicts a subject's upcoming decision². Within single trials, however, there are large moment-to-moment fluctuations in the DV, the behavioural significance of which is unclear. Here, using real-time, neural feedback control of stimulus duration, we show that within-trial DV fluctuations, decoded from motor cortex, are tightly linked to decision state in macaques, predicting behavioural choices substantially better than the condition-averaged DV or the visual stimulus alone. Furthermore, robust changes in DV sign have the statistical regularities expected from behavioural studies of changes of mind³. Probing the decision process on single trials with weak stimulus pulses, we find evidence for time-varying absorbing decision bounds, enabling us to distinguish between specific models of decision making.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Choice Behavior / physiology
Decision Making / physiology*
Discrimination, Psychological
Judgment
Macaca / physiology
Models, Neurological*
Motion
Motion Perception
Photic Stimulation
Time Factors

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding