title: The neural substrate of prior information in perceptual decision making: a model-based analysis.
abstract: PRIOR INFORMATION BIASES THE DECISION PROCESS: actions consistent with prior information are executed swiftly, whereas actions inconsistent with prior information are executed slowly. How is this bias implemented in the brain? To address this question we conducted an experiment in which people had to decide quickly whether a cloud of dots moved coherently to the left or to the right. Cues provided probabilistic information about the upcoming stimulus. Behavioral data were analyzed with the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA) model, confirming that people used the cue to bias their decisions. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data showed that presentation of the cue differentially activated orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, and the putamen. Directional cues selectively activated the contralateral putamen. The fMRI analysis yielded results only when the LBA bias parameter was included as a covariate, highlighting the practical benefits of formal modeling. Our results suggest that the human brain uses prior information by increasing cortico-striatal activation to selectively disinhibit preferred responses.
authors.affiliation: Spinoza Center for Neuroimaging, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Birte U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Forstmann
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dutilh
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Eric-Jan
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Wagenmakers