title: Neural oscillations and synchronization differentially support evidence accumulation in perceptual and value-based decision making.
abstract: Organisms make two types of decisions on a regular basis. Perceptual decisions are determined by objective states of the world (e.g., melons are bigger than apples), whereas value-based decisions are determined by subjective preferences (e.g., I prefer apples to melons). Theoretical accounts suggest that both types of choice involve neural computations accumulating evidence for the choice alternatives; however, little is known about the overlap or differences in the processes underlying perceptual versus value-based decisions. We analyzed EEG recordings during a paradigm where perceptual- and value-based choices were based on identical stimuli. For both types of choice, evidence accumulation was evident in parietal gamma-frequency oscillations, whereas a similar frontal signal was unique for value-based decisions. Fronto-parietal synchronization of these signals predicted value-based choice accuracy. These findings uncover how decisions emerge from topographic- and frequency-specific oscillations that accumulate distinct aspects of evidence, with large-scale synchronization as a mechanism integrating these spatially distributed signals.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research (SNS-Lab), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: rafael.polania@econ.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Polanía
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Economics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krajbich
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research (SNS-Lab), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grueschow
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research (SNS-Lab), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: christian.ruff@econ.uzh.ch.
authors.forename: Christian C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ruff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D058407:Electroencephalography Phase Synchronization / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult