title: Coordinated within-trial dynamics of low-frequency neural rhythms controls evidence accumulation.
abstract: Higher cognitive functions, such as human perceptual decision making, require information processing and transmission across wide-spread cortical networks. Temporally synchronized neural firing patterns are advantageous for efficiently representing and transmitting information within and between assemblies. Computational, empirical, and conceptual considerations all lead to the expectation that the informational redundancy of neural firing rates is positively related to their synchronization. Recent theorizing and initial evidence also suggest that the coding of stimulus characteristics and their integration with behavioral goal states require neural interactions across a hierarchy of timescales. However, most studies thus have focused on neural activity in a single frequency range or on a restricted set of brain regions. Here we provide evidence for cooperative spatiotemporal dynamics of slow and fast EEG signals during perceptual decision making at the single-trial level. Participants performed three masked two-choice decision tasks, one each with numerical, verbal, or figural content. Decrements in posterior α power (8-14 Hz) were paralleled by increments in high-frequency (>30 Hz) signal entropy in trials demanding active sensory processing. Simultaneously, frontocentral θ power (4-7 Hz) increased, indicating evidence integration. The coordinated α/θ dynamics were tightly linked to decision speed and remarkably similar across tasks, suggesting a domain-general mechanism. In sum, we demonstrate an inverse association between decision-related changes in widespread low-frequency power and local high-frequency entropy. The cooperation among mechanisms captured by these changes enhances the informational density of neural response patterns and qualifies as a neural coding system in the service of perceptual decision making.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, werkle@mpib-berlin.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Werkle-Bergner
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Grandy
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Neuropsychology Unit, Neurology Clinic, Geneva University Hospitals, CH-1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chicherio
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, German Institute for International Educational Research, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schmiedek
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany, Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm University, SE-113 30 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lövdén
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Human Development, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulman
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindenberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: EEG; decision making; entropy; neural oscillations; single-trial analyses; synchronization