Attractors and noise: twin drivers of decisions and multistability.
Perceptual decisions are made not only during goal-directed behavior such as choice tasks, but also occur spontaneously while multistable stimuli are being viewed. In both contexts, the formation of a perceptual decision is best captured by noisy attractor dynamics. Noise-driven attractor transitions can accommodate a wide range of timescales and a hierarchical arrangement with "nested attractors" harbors even more dynamical possibilities. The attractor framework seems particularly promising for understanding higher-level mental states that combine heterogeneous information from a distributed set of brain areas.
Braun
Jochen
J
Cognitive Biology Lab, University of Magdeburg, Germany. jochen.braun@ovgu.de
Mattia
Maurizio
M
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*