Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK.
Nat Neurosci. 2018 Oct;21(10):1471-1481. doi: 10.1038/s41593-018-0239-5. Epub 2018 Sep 26.
Naturalistic decision-making typically involves sequential deployment of attention to choice alternatives to gather information before a decision is made. Attention filters how information enters decision circuits, thus implying that attentional control may shape how decision computations unfold. We recorded neuronal activity from three subregions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) while monkeys performed an attention-guided decision-making task. From the first saccade to decision-relevant information, a triple dissociation of decision- and attention-related computations emerged in parallel across PFC subregions. During subsequent saccades, orbitofrontal cortex activity reflected the value comparison between currently and previously attended information. In contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex carried several signals reflecting belief updating in light of newly attended information, the integration of evidence to a decision bound and an emerging plan for what action to choose. Our findings show how anatomically dissociable PFC representations evolve during attention-guided information search, supporting computations critical for value-guided choice.
自然决策通常涉及在做出决策之前，依次将注意力集中在选择替代方案上以收集信息。注意力过滤了信息进入决策回路的方式，因此意味着注意力控制可能会影响决策计算的展开方式。当猴子执行注意力引导的决策任务时，我们从前额叶皮层（PFC）的三个亚区记录神经元活动。从第一次扫视到与决策相关的信息，在 PFC 亚区中同时出现了决策和注意力相关计算的三重分离。在随后的扫视中，眶额皮层的活动反映了当前和以前关注信息之间的价值比较。相比之下，前扣带皮层携带了几个信号，反映了根据新关注的信息进行信念更新、将证据整合到决策边界以及为选择什么行动制定一个新计划的情况。我们的研究结果表明，解剖上可分离的 PFC 表示在注意力引导的信息搜索过程中是如何演变的，这支持了对价值引导选择至关重要的计算。
