Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.
Neuron. 2017 Aug 30;95(5):1160-1170.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.039. Epub 2017 Aug 17.
Prominent theories of decision making suggest that the basal ganglia (BG) play a causal role in deliberation between action choices. An alternative hypothesis is that deliberation occurs in cortical regions, while the BG control the speed-accuracy trade-off (SAT) between committing to a choice versus continuing to deliberate. Here, we test these hypotheses by recording activity in the internal and external segments of the globus pallidus (GPi/GPe) while monkeys perform a task dissociating the process of deliberation, the moment of commitment, and adjustment of the SAT. Our data suggest that unlike premotor and motor cortical regions, pallidal output does not contribute to the process of deliberation but instead provides a time-varying signal that controls the SAT and reflects the growing urgency to commit to a choice. Once a target is selected by cortical regions, GP activity confirms commitment to the decision and invigorates the subsequent movement.
主流决策理论认为基底神经节（BG）在动作选择的权衡过程中起因果作用。另一种假设是，思考发生在皮质区域，而 BG 则控制着在做出选择和继续思考之间的速度-准确性权衡（SAT）。在这里，我们通过记录猴子在执行任务时的苍白球内外段（GPi/GPe）的活动来检验这些假设，该任务将思考过程、做出决定的时刻以及 SAT 的调整分离开来。我们的数据表明，与前运动和运动皮质区域不同，苍白球的输出对思考过程没有贡献，而是提供了一个随时间变化的信号，控制 SAT 并反映出做出决定的紧迫性逐渐增加。一旦皮质区域选择了目标，GP 活动就会确认对决策的承诺，并为随后的运动提供动力。
