title: The subthalamic nucleus during decision-making with multiple alternatives.
abstract: Several prominent neurocomputational models predict that an increase of choice alternatives is modulated by increased activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). In turn, increased STN activity allows prolonged accumulation of information. At the same time, areas in the medial frontal cortex such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the pre-SMA are hypothesized to influence the information processing in the STN. This study set out to test concrete predictions of STN activity in multiple-alternative decision-making using a multimodal combination of 7 Tesla structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and ancestral graph (AG) modeling. The results are in line with the predictions in that increased STN activity was found with an increasing amount of choice alternatives. In addition, our study shows that activity in the ACC is correlated with activity in the STN without directly modulating it. This result sheds new light on the information processing streams between medial frontal cortex and the basal ganglia.
authors.affiliation: Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurophysics, Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Max C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Keuken
authors.affiliation: Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leendert
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Maanen
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rafal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bogacz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysics, Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysics, Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurophysics, Max-Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstrasse 1a, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Birte U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Forstmann
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: basal ganglia; computational modeling; decision-making; diffusion weighted imaging; functional magnetic resonance imaging; ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging