Optimal decision making on the basis of evidence represented in spike trains.
Scientific Abstract
Experimental data indicate that perceptual decision making involves integration of sensory evidence in certain cortical areas. Theoretical studies have proposed that the computation in neural decision circuits approximates statistically optimal decision procedures (e.g., sequential probability ratio test) that maximize the reward rate in sequential choice tasks. However, these previous studies assumed that the sensory evidence was represented by continuous values from gaussian distributions with the same variance across alternatives. In this article, we make a more realistic assumption that sensory evidence is represented in spike trains described by the Poisson processes, which naturally satisfy the mean-variance relationship observed in sensory neurons. We show that for such a representation, the neural circuits involving cortical integrators and basal ganglia can approximate the optimal decision procedures for two and multiple alternative choice tasks.
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Optimal decision making on the basis of evidence represented in spike trains.
Scientific Abstract
Experimental data indicate that perceptual decision making involves integration of sensory evidence in certain cortical areas. Theoretical studies have proposed that the computation in neural decision circuits approximates statistically optimal decision procedures (e.g., sequential probability ratio test) that maximize the reward rate in sequential choice tasks. However, these previous studies assumed that the sensory evidence was represented by continuous values from gaussian distributions with the same variance across alternatives. In this article, we make a more realistic assumption that sensory evidence is represented in spike trains described by the Poisson processes, which naturally satisfy the mean-variance relationship observed in sensory neurons. We show that for such a representation, the neural circuits involving cortical integrators and basal ganglia can approximate the optimal decision procedures for two and multiple alternative choice tasks.
Citation
2010.Neural Comput, 22(5):1113-48.
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Similar content
Preprint
Normative Networks for Source Separation via Local Plasticity and Dendritic Computation
Preprint
On the Infinite Width and Depth Limits of Predictive Coding Networks
Paper
Dithering suppresses half-harmonic neural synchronisation to photic stimulation in humans.
2026. Brain Stimul, 19(3):103111.
Free Full Text at Europe PMC
PMC13328066