Evidence accumulation during perceptual decisions in humans varies as a function of dorsal frontoparietal organization

Nat Hum Behav. 2020 Aug;4(8):844-855. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0863-4. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

Abstract

Animal neurophysiological studies have identified neural signals within dorsal frontoparietal areas that trace a perceptual decision by accumulating sensory evidence over time and trigger action upon reaching a threshold. Although analogous accumulation-to-bound signals are identifiable on extracranial human electroencephalography, their cortical origins remain unknown. Here neural metrics of human evidence accumulation, predictive of the speed of perceptual reports, were isolated using electroencephalography and related to dorsal frontoparietal network (dFPN) connectivity using diffusion and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The build-up rate of evidence accumulation mediated the relationship between the white matter macrostructure of dFPN pathways and the efficiency of perceptual reports. This association between steeper build-up rates of evidence accumulation and the dFPN was recapitulated in the resting-state networks. Stronger connectivity between dFPN regions is thus associated with faster evidence accumulation and speeded perceptual decisions. Our findings identify an integrated network for perceptual decisions that may be targeted for neurorehabilitation in cognitive disorders.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Decision Making / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Frontal Lobe / physiology*
  • Functional Neuroimaging
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Neural Pathways / physiology
  • Parietal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Perception / physiology*
  • White Matter / diagnostic imaging
  • White Matter / physiology
  • Young Adult