title: Causal evidence for frontal cortex organization for perceptual decision making.
abstract: Although recent research has shown that the frontal cortex has a critical role in perceptual decision making, an overarching theory of frontal functional organization for perception has yet to emerge. Perceptual decision making is temporally organized such that it requires the processes of selection, criterion setting, and evaluation. We hypothesized that exploring this temporal structure would reveal a large-scale frontal organization for perception. A causal intervention with transcranial magnetic stimulation revealed clear specialization along the rostrocaudal axis such that the control of successive stages of perceptual decision making was selectively affected by perturbation of successively rostral areas. Simulations with a dynamic model of decision making suggested distinct computational contributions of each region. Finally, the emergent frontal gradient was further corroborated by functional MRI. These causal results provide an organizational principle for the role of frontal cortex in the control of perceptual decision making and suggest specific mechanistic contributions for its different subregions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; drahnev@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dobromir
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5265-2559
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rahnev
authors.affiliation: Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;
authors.forename: Derek Evan
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Nee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
authors.forename: Alina Sue
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Esposito
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D003657:Decision Making; D005625:Frontal Lobe; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010465:Perception; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
keywords: TMS; fMRI; frontal cortex; hierarchy; perception