Rats and Humans Can Optimally Accumulate Evidence for Decision-Making

Abstract

How to Make Decisions Recently, a number of methods to probe internal properties of nonlinear neural systems have been developed. In these methods, highly variable stimuli are used to explore the input space of the system. Neural responses are then studied using models that take advantage of the known trial-by-trial stimulus information. Brunton et al. (p. 95 ) adapted this combined approach to decision-making. Both in rats and humans, the diffusion constant of the drift-diffusion model of decision-making was zero, implying that the noise is all in the processing of sensory input and not in the evidence accumulator. In addition, rats gradually accumulated evidence for decision-making, with strong effects of sensory adaptation on gradual accumulation of evidence.