Zylberberg Ariel, Shadlen Michael N
Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Virtual Confidence and Metacognition Laboratory, New York, NY, USA.
Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; The Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA; Grossman Center for the Statistics of the Mind, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Cell Rep. 2025 Apr 22;44(4):115526. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115526. Epub 2025 Apr 11.
Many decisions arise from a race between competing evidence accumulation processes that terminate upon reaching a threshold. We ask whether neurons supporting this accumulation also encode confidence-whether a choice is correct or incorrect. Monkeys performed a reaction-time random dot motion task while populations of neurons were recorded from the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area. Shortly before the choice report, LIP neurons with response fields overlapping the contralateral choice target (T neurons) convey information about choice accuracy. We show that this information would give rise to the behavioral signatures of confidence observed in humans. These findings are surprising because the activity of T neurons just before the report is, on average, independent of reaction time and motion strength-strong predictors of accuracy. This tension is resolved by considering the heterogeneity of neuronal responses across the population of T neurons. We conclude that neurons representing evidence accumulation may inform a decision-maker's confidence.
许多决策源于相互竞争的证据积累过程之间的竞赛，这些过程在达到阈值时终止。我们要问的是，支持这种积累的神经元是否也编码信心——一个选择是正确还是错误。猴子在执行反应时随机点运动任务的同时，从外侧顶内（LIP）区域记录神经元群体的活动。在做出选择报告前不久，反应场与对侧选择目标重叠的LIP神经元（T神经元）传达有关选择准确性的信息。我们表明，这些信息会产生在人类身上观察到的信心行为特征。这些发现令人惊讶，因为在报告前T神经元的活动平均而言与反应时间和运动强度无关，而反应时间和运动强度是准确性的有力预测指标。通过考虑T神经元群体中神经元反应的异质性，这种矛盾得以解决。我们得出结论，代表证据积累的神经元可能会告知决策者其信心。
