Alavash Mohsen, Daube Christoph, Wöstmann Malte, Brandmeyer Alex, Obleser Jonas
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Germany.
Max Planck Research Group "Auditory Cognition," Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
Netw Neurosci. 2017 Jun 1;1(2):166-191. doi: 10.1162/NETN_a_00009. eCollection 2017 Spring.
Perceptual decisions vary in the speed at which we make them. Evidence suggests that translating sensory information into perceptual decisions relies on distributed interacting neural populations, with decision speed hinging on power modulations of the neural oscillations. Yet the dependence of perceptual decisions on the large-scale network organization of coupled neural oscillations has remained elusive. We measured magnetoencephalographic signals in human listeners who judged acoustic stimuli composed of carefully titrated clouds of tone sweeps. These stimuli were used in two task contexts, in which the participants judged the overall pitch or direction of the tone sweeps. We traced the large-scale network dynamics of the source-projected neural oscillations on a trial-by-trial basis using power-envelope correlations and graph-theoretical network discovery. In both tasks, faster decisions were predicted by higher segregation and lower integration of coupled beta-band (∼16-28 Hz) oscillations. We also uncovered the brain network states that promoted faster decisions in either lower-order auditory or higher-order control brain areas. Specifically, decision speed in judging the tone sweep direction critically relied on the nodal network configurations of anterior temporal, cingulate, and middle frontal cortices. Our findings suggest that global network communication during perceptual decision-making is implemented in the human brain by large-scale couplings between beta-band neural oscillations.
知觉决策在我们做出决策的速度上存在差异。有证据表明，将感官信息转化为知觉决策依赖于分布式的相互作用神经群体，决策速度取决于神经振荡的功率调制。然而，知觉决策对耦合神经振荡的大规模网络组织的依赖性仍然难以捉摸。我们测量了人类听众的脑磁图信号，这些听众判断由精心调整的音调扫描云组成的声学刺激。这些刺激在两种任务情境中使用，参与者在其中判断音调扫描的整体音高或方向。我们使用功率包络相关性和图论网络发现，逐次追踪源投射神经振荡的大规模网络动态。在这两种任务中，耦合的β波段（约16 - 28赫兹）振荡的更高隔离度和更低整合度预示着更快的决策。我们还发现了在较低级听觉或较高级控制脑区中促进更快决策的脑网络状态。具体而言，判断音调扫描方向的决策速度关键依赖于颞叶前部、扣带回和额中回皮质的节点网络配置。我们的研究结果表明，在人类大脑中，知觉决策过程中的全局网络通信是通过β波段神经振荡之间的大规模耦合实现的。
