title: Neural Mechanisms of Post-error Adjustments of Decision Policy in Parietal Cortex.
abstract: Humans often slow down after mistakes (post-error slowing [PES]), but the neural mechanism and adaptive role of PES remain controversial. We studied changes in the neural mechanisms of decision making after errors in humans and monkeys that performed a motion direction discrimination task. We found that PES is mediated by two factors: a reduction in sensitivity to sensory information and an increase in the decision bound. Both effects are implemented through dynamic changes in the decision-making process. Neuronal responses in the monkey lateral intraparietal area revealed that bound changes are implemented by decreasing an evidence-independent urgency signal. They also revealed a reduction in the rate of evidence accumulation, reflecting reduced sensitivity. These changes in the bound and sensitivity provide a quantitative account of choices and response times. We suggest that PES reflects an adaptive increase of decision bound in anticipation of maladaptive reductions in sensitivity to incoming evidence.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Braden A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Purcell
authors.affiliation: Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA. Electronic address: roozbeh@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Roozbeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kiani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology