Properties and temporal dynamics of choice- and action-predictive signals during item recognition decisions.

Properties and temporal dynamics of choice- and action-predictive signals during item recognition decisions. Brain Struct Funct. 2020 Aug 09;: Authors: Guidotti R, Tosoni A, Sestieri C Abstract Decision-making is in the service of action regardless of whether the decision concerns perceptual information, goods or memories. Compared to recent advances in the neurobiology of perceptual or value-based decisions, however, the neural bases supporting the sampling of evidence in long-term memory, and the transformation of memory-based decisions into appropriate actions, are still poorly understood. In the present fMRI study, we used multivariate pattern analysis to investigate the temporal dynamics of choice- and action-predictive signals during an item recognition task that manipulated the association between memory choices (old/new) and motor responses (eye/hand) across subjects. Choice-predictive activity was mainly observed in striatal, lateral prefrontal and lateral parietal regions, was sensitive to the amount of decision evidence and showed a rapid increase after stimulus onset, followed by a fast decay. Action-predictive signals were found in primary sensory motor, premotor and occipito-parietal regions, were generally observed at the end of the decision phase and were not modulated by decision evidence. These findings suggest that a memory decision variable, potentially represented in a fronto-striato-parietal network, is not dire...
Source: Brain Structure and Function - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Brain Struct Funct Source Type: research