title: Three-dimensional reach trajectories as a probe of real-time decision-making between multiple competing targets.
abstract: Though several features of cognitive processing can be inferred from the discrete measurement [e.g., reaction time (RT), accuracy, etc.] of participants' conscious reports (e.g., verbal or key-press responses), it is becoming increasingly clear that a much richer understanding of these features can be captured from continuous measures of rapid, largely non-conscious behaviors like hand or eye movements. Here, using new experimental data, we describe in detail both the approach and analyses implemented in some of our previous studies that have used rapid reaching movements under cases of target uncertainty in order to probe the features, constraints and dynamics of stimulus-related processing in the brain. This work, as well as that of others, shows that when individuals are simultaneously presented with multiple potential targets-only one of which will be cued after reach onset-they produce initial reach trajectories that are spatially biased in accordance with the probabilistic distribution of targets. Such "spatial averaging" effects are consistent with observations from neurophysiological studies showing that neuronal populations in sensorimotor brain structures represent multiple target choices in parallel and they compete for selection. These effects also confirm and help extend computational models aimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms that support action-target selection. We suggest that the use of this simple, yet powerful behavioral paradigm for providing a "real-time" visualization of ongoing cognitive processes occurring at the neural level offers great promise for studying processes related to a wide range of psychological phenomena, such as decision-making and the representation of objects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Jason P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gallivan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chapman
keywords: cognition; decision-making; motor; reaching; vision
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2013 Aug;51(10):1878-87
references.pmid: 23796704
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2011 Apr 20;2:59
references.pmid: 21687437
references.citation: Cogn Sci. 2011 Jul;35(5):983-96
references.pmid: 21463359
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1997 Sep;78(3):1574-89
references.pmid: 9310444
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2006 Aug;10(8):382-90
references.pmid: 16843702
references.citation: Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):433-6
references.pmid: 9176952
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Gen. 2008 Nov;137(4):673-90
references.pmid: 18999360
references.citation: Cognition. 2010 Aug;116(2):168-76
references.pmid: 20471007
references.citation: Vision Res. 2010 Jun 1;50(11):999-1013
references.pmid: 20219518
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2002 Nov;5(11):1226-35
references.pmid: 12404008
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1996 Jun;99(6):3718-27
references.pmid: 8655803
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2005 May 18;25(20):4941-51
references.pmid: 15901775
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2001 Mar;2(3):194-203
references.pmid: 11256080
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2008 Jan;19(1):22-4
references.pmid: 18181787
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2014 Jan 29;34(5):1769-80
references.pmid: 24478359
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2000 Jan;130(2):159-68
references.pmid: 10672469
references.citation: Vision Res. 2008 Mar;48(7):853-61
references.pmid: 18262583
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2010 Dec 6;214(1):130-4
references.pmid: 20472001
references.citation: Annu Rev Neurosci. 2010;33:269-98
references.pmid: 20345247
references.citation: Front Psychol. 2013 Mar 27;4:140
references.pmid: 23543852
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 1997 Jun;115(2):217-33
references.pmid: 9224851
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Aug;12(8):291-7
references.pmid: 18614390
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2002 Feb;87(2):1149-54
references.pmid: 11826082
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2004 Feb;91(2):890-900
references.pmid: 14561691
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1983 Feb;49(2):548-64
references.pmid: 6834087
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2009 Oct;20(10):1183-8
references.pmid: 19686295
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Dec;22(6):996-1003
references.pmid: 22647641
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2009 Aug;13(8):360-6
references.pmid: 19647475
references.citation: Annu Rev Neurosci. 2010;33:1-21
references.pmid: 20192813
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Dec 24;28(52):14165-75
references.pmid: 19109499
references.citation: J Mot Behav. 2009 Mar;41(2):128-36
references.pmid: 19201683
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2007 Sep 29;362(1485):1585-99
references.pmid: 17428779
references.citation: Percept Psychophys. 2006 Jan;68(1):129-38
references.pmid: 16617837
references.citation: Nature. 2009 Sep 10;461(7261):263-6
references.pmid: 19693010
references.citation: J Vis. 2011 Sep 22;11(10):
references.pmid: 21940762
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2013 Aug;110(4):807-16
references.pmid: 23699052
references.citation: Vision Res. 2013 Jun 7;85:58-72
references.pmid: 23262054
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2008 Jan;99(1):14-24
references.pmid: 17989239
references.citation: Behav Brain Sci. 1999 Aug;22(4):661-74; discussion 674-721
references.pmid: 11301526
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2007 Nov;98(5):3034-46
references.pmid: 17898140
references.citation: Front Hum Neurosci. 2013 Jun 11;7:262
references.pmid: 23781185
references.citation: Trends Neurosci. 1995 Jul;18(7):314-20
references.pmid: 7571012
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Feb;7(2):160-6
references.pmid: 16429125
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2011 Jun;22(6):803-11
references.pmid: 21562312
references.citation: Nature. 2004 Jan 15;427(6971):244-7
references.pmid: 14724638
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2009 Oct;198(4):513-20
references.pmid: 19644681
references.citation: Spat Vis. 1997;10(4):437-42
references.pmid: 9176953
references.citation: Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2010 Oct;36(10):1318-31
references.pmid: 20682754
references.citation: J Vis. 2014 Mar 26;14(3):30
references.pmid: 24672020
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jul 19;102(29):10393-8
references.pmid: 15985550
references.citation: Nature. 1997 Sep 4;389(6646):66-9
references.pmid: 9288967
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2009 May 20;29(20):6436-48
references.pmid: 19458215
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2006;30(5):666-79
references.pmid: 16497377
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2006 Sep;96(3):1420-4
references.pmid: 16624996
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2013 Aug;24(8):1456-65
references.pmid: 23765267
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 1971 Mar;9(1):97-113
references.pmid: 5146491
references.citation: Annu Rev Neurosci. 1999;22:319-49
references.pmid: 10202542
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2004 Jul;5(7):532-46
references.pmid: 15208695
references.citation: Neuron. 2007 Jan 4;53(1):9-16
references.pmid: 17196526
references.citation: Neuron. 2012 Oct 18;76(2):281-95
references.pmid: 23083732
references.citation: Am Sci. 1969 Winter;57(4):421-57
references.pmid: 5360276
references.citation: J Mot Behav. 1997 Dec;29(4):297-310
references.pmid: 12453772
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2006 Sep 20;26(38):9761-70
references.pmid: 16988047
references.citation: Vision Res. 2000;40(10-12):1459-68
references.pmid: 10788652
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2007 Apr;178(4):518-28
references.pmid: 17093990
references.citation: Neuron. 2005 Mar 3;45(5):801-14
references.pmid: 15748854
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Dec;22(6):927-36
references.pmid: 22683275
references.citation: Psychon Bull Rev. 2010 Aug;17(4):486-91
references.pmid: 20702866
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2008 Dec;18(6):558-64
references.pmid: 19095435