CNS/Bi 256 | Decision Making

Details
Course Description / Policies
Office Hours
Schedule / Assignments

Details

Tuesdays/Thursdays, 13:00-13:55

BBB 333

Course Description / Policies

This special topics course will examine the neural mechanisms of reward, decision making, and reward-based learning. The course covers the anatomy and physiology of reward and action systems. Special emphasis will be placed on the representation of reward expectation; the interplay between reward, motivation, and attention; and the selection of actions. Links between concepts in economics and the neural mechanisms of decision making will be explored. Data from animal and human studies collected using behavioral, neurophysiological, and functional magnetic resonance techniques will be reviewed. Instructor Andersen.

Students will present papers during the class (1-2 per class, about 3 papers per student over the course of the term). In addition, two students per paper will be assigned as "discussants". Discussants will prepare questions for the paper presenter, to help the group get to the core issues of each paper.

Office Hours

Richard Andersen, by appointment
Carey Zhang, by appointment

Schedule / Assignments

Date

Topic / Papers

Presenter (Discussants)

03/29/2016 Class Orientation N/A

Value coding


03/31/2016 Platt, M.L., and Glimcher, P.W. (1999) "Neural correlates of decision variables in parietal cortex". Nature 400:233-238. Nikhita (Gabriela, Olivia)

Padoa-Schioppa, C. and Assad, J.A. (2006) "Neurons in orbitofrontal cortex encode economic value". Nature 441:223-226. [Supplement]
Michelle (Minh Nhat, Tomas)

Optional Background Reading:

Cai, X., and Padoa-Schioppa, C. (2012) "Neuronal encoding of subjective value in dorsal and ventral anterior cingulate cortex". J. Neurosci. 32:3791-3808.

Louie, K., Grattan, L.E. and Glimcher, P.W. (2011) "Reward value-based gain control: divisive normalization in parietal cortex". J. Neurosci. 31:10627-10639.

Rangel, A., Camerer, C., and Montague, P.R. (2008) "A framework for studying the neurobiology of value-based decision making". Nature Reviews 9:545-556.

Padoa-Schioppa, C., Assad. J.A. (2008) "The representation of economic value in the orbitofrontal cortex is invariant for changes of menu". Nature Neurosci. 11:95-102

Towa, R.B., Mormann, M., Koch, C. (2013) "Simultaneous modeling of visual saliency and value computation improves predictions of economic choice". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 110:E3858-67



Reward


04/05/2016 Hollerman, J.R. and Schultz, W. (1998) "Dopamine neurons report an error in the temporal prediction of reward during learning". Nature Neurosci. 1:304-309. Albert (Neha, Ryan)

Cohen, J.Y., Haesler, S., Vong, L., Lowell, B.B, and Uchida N. (2012) "Neuron-type-specific signals for reward and punishment in the ventral tegmental area". Nature 482:85-88. [Supplement]
Gabriela (HyeongChan, Nikhita)

Action cost


04/07/2016 Burk, D., Ingram, J.N., Franklin, D.W., Shadlen, M.N. & Wolpert, D.M. (2014) "Motor effort alters changes of mind in sensorimotor decision making". PLoS One e92681. Neha (Michelle, Albert)

Cos, I., Duque, J., Cisek, P. (2014) "Rapid prediction of biomechanical costs during action decisions". J Neurophysiol. 112(6):1256-66. HyeongChan (Constance, Ryan)

Perceptual decision making


04/12/2016 Newsome, W.T., Britten, K.H., and Movshon, J.A. (1989) "Neuronal correlates of a perceptual decision". Nature 341:52-54. Constance (Cibele, Albert)

Shadlen, M.N. and Newsome, W.T. (1996) "Motion perception: seeing and deciding". PNAS 93:628-633. Tomas (HyeongChan, Olivia)
04/14/2016 Resulaj, A., Kiani, R., Wolpert, D.M., Shadlen, M.N. (2009) "Changes of mind in decision-making". Nature. 461(7261):263-266. Olivia (Tomas, Neha)

Kiani, R., Corthell, L. and Shadlen, M.N. (2014) "Choice Certainty Is Informed by Both Evidence and Decision Time". Neuron 84:1329-134. Minh Nhat (Nikhita, Cibele)

Optional Background Reading:

Shadlen, M.N. and Newsome, W.T. (2001) "Neural basis of a perceptual decision in the parietal cortex (area LIP) of the rhesus monkey". J. Neurophysiol. 86:1916-1936.

Bennur, S. and Gold, J.I. (2011) "Distinct representations of a perceptual decision and associated oculomotor plan in the monkey lateral intraparietal area". J. Neurosci. 31:913-921.

Andersen, R.A., Brotchie, P.R., and Mazzoni, P. (1992) "Evidence for the lateral intraparietal area as the parietal eye field". Cur. Opin. Neurobiol. 2:840-846.

Albright, T.D. (1984) "Columnar organization of directionally selective cells in visual area MT of the macaque". J. Neurophysiol. 51:16-31.

Rorie, A.E., Gao, J., McClelland, J.L., and Newsome, W.T. (2010) "Integration of sensory and reward information during perceptual decision-making in lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) of the macaque monkey". PLoS ONE e9308.



Action selection


04/19/2016 Cisek, P. (2012) "Making decisions through a distributed consensus". Curr Opin Neurobiol. 22:927-36. Cibele (Constance, Michelle)

Gallivan, J.P., Barton, K.S., Chapman, C.S., Wolpert, D.M. and Flanagan, J.R. (2015) "Action plan co-optimization reveals the parallel encoding of competing reach movements". Nature Communications. 6:7428. Ryan (Olivia, Minh Nhat)

Optional Background Reading:

Louie, K., and Glimcher, P.W. (2010) "Separating value from choice: delay discounting activity in the lateral intraparietal area". J. Neurosci. 30:5498-5507. [Supplement]

Chapman, C.S., Gallivan, J.P., Wood, D.K., Milne, J.L., Culham, J.C., Goodale, M.A. (2010) "Reaching for the unknown: multiple target encoding and real-time decision-making in a rapid reach task". Cognition. 116:168-76.

Pastor-Bernier, A. and Cisek, P. (2011) "Neural correlates of biased competition in premotor cortex". J. Neurosci. 31:7083-7088.

Shadlen, M.N., Kiani, R., Hanks, T.D. and Churchland, A.K. (2008) "Neurobiology of decision making: an intentional framework". from Better than conscious? Decision making, the human mind and implications for institutions. Eds: Engel, C. and Singer, W., MIT Press

Rickert, J., Riehle, A., Aertsen, A., Rotter, S., Nawrot, M.P. (2009) "Dynamic encoding of movement direction in motor cortical neurons". J. Neurosci. 29:13870-13882.

Cisek, P. (2007) "Cortical mechanisms of action selection: the affordance competition hypothesis". Trans R. Soc. Lond. B 362:1585-1599.



Potential plans


04/21/2016 Klaes, C., Westendorff, S., Chakrabarti, S., and Gail, A. (2011) "Choosing goals, not rules: deciding among rule-based action plans". Neuron 70:536-548.[Supplement] Tomas (HyeongChan, Neha)

Optional Background Reading:

Cui, H. and Andersen, R.A. (2011) "Different representations of potential and selected motor plans by distinct parietal areas". J. Neurosci. 31:18130-18136.

Cui, H. and Andersen, R.A. (2007) "Posterior Parietal Cortex Encodes Autonomously Selected Motor Plans". Neuron. 56:552-559.



Categorical decision making


04/26/2016 Freedman, D.J., and Assad, J.A. (2006) "Experience-dependent representation of visual categories in parietal cortex". Nature 443:85-88.[Supplement]
HyeongChan (Olivia, Cibele)

Fitzgerald, J.K., Freedman, D.J., and Assad, J.A. (2011) "Generalized associative representations in parietal cortex". Nature Neurosci. 14:1075-1079. Ryan (Constance, Albert)
04/28/2016 Swaminathan, S.K., and Freedman, D.J. (2012) "Preferential encoding of visual categories in parietal cortex compared with prefrontal cortex". Nature Neurosci. 15:315-322.[Supplement] Minh Nhat (Cibele, Neha)

Swaminathan, S.K., Masse, N.Y., and Freedman, D.J. (2013) "A Comparison of Lateral and Medial Intraparietal Areas During a Visual Categorization Task". Journal of Neuroscience, 33:13157-13170. Michelle (Nikhita, Ryan)

Optional Background Reading:

Goodwin, S.J., Blackman, R.K., Sakellaridi, S., and Chafee, M.V. (2012) "Executive control over cognition: stronger and earlier rule-based modulation of spatial category signals in prefrontal cortex relative to parietal cortex". J. Neurosci. 32:3499-3515.

Freedman, D.J. and Assad, J.A. (2011) "A proposed common neural mechanism for categorization and perceptual decisions". Nature Neurosci. 14:143-146.



Social decision making


05/03/2016 Deaner, R.O., Khera, A.V. and Platt, M.L. (2005) "Monkeys pay per view: adaptive valuation of social images by rhesus macaques". Current Biology 15:543-548. Albert (Michelle, Gabriela)

Klein, J.T., Deaner, R.O., and Platt, M.L. (2008) "Neural correlates of social target value in macaque parietal cortex". Current Biology 18:419-424. [Supplement] Constance (Minh Nhat, Ryan)

Optional Background Reading:

Smith, D.V., Hayden, B.Y., Truong, T-K. Song, A.W., Platt, M.L., and Huettel, S.A. (2010) "Distinct value signals in anterior and posterior ventromedical prefrontal cortex". J. Neurosci. 2490-2495.



Awareness of decisions


05/05/2016 Sirigu, A. et al. (2004) "Altered awareness of voluntary action after damage to the parietal cortex". Nature Neurosci. 7:80-84. [Supplement] Neha (Nikhita, Minh Nhat)

Desmurget, M., Reilly, K.T., Richard, N., Szathmari, A., Mottolese, C., and Sirigu, A. (2009) "Movement intention after parietal cortex stimulation in humans". Science 324:811-813. [Supplement]
Cibele (Gabriela, Constance)

Optional Background Reading:

Libet, B., Gleason, C.A., Wright, E.W., and Perl, D.K. (1983) "Time of conscious intention to act in relation to onset of cerebral activity(readiness-potential). The unconscious initiation of a freely voluntary act". Brain 106:623-642.

Fried, I. Mukamel, R. and Kreiman, G. (2011) "Internally generated preactivation of single neurons in human medical frontal cortex predicts volition". Neuron 69:548-562.

Andersen, R.A., and Buneo, C.A. (2002). "Intentional maps in posterior parietal cortex". Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 25:189-220.

Soon, C.S., Brass, M., Heinze, H-J. and Haynes, J-D. (2008) "Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain". Nature Neurosci. 11:543-545.

Haggard, P. (2008) "Human volition: towards a neuroscience of will". Nature Rev. Neurosci. 9:934-946.



Extinction: a deficit in decision making?


05/10/2016 Snyder, L. H., Batista, A.P., and Andersen, R.A. (1997). "Coding of intention in the posterior parietal cortex". Nature 386:167-170. Nikhita (HyeongChan, Tomas)

Christopoulos, V.N., Bonaiuto, J., Kagan, I., Andersen, R.A. (2015) "Inactivation of Parietal Reach Region Affects Reaching But Not Saccade Choices in Internally Guided Decisions". J Neurosci. 35:11719-28. Olivia (Neha, Constance)

Optional Background Reading:

Wilke, M., Kagan, I., and Andersen, R.A. (2013) "Effects of Pulvinar Inactivation on Spatial Decision-making between Equal and Asymmetric Reward Options". Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 25:8, 1270-1283.

Kubanek, J., Li J.M., Snyder, L.H. (2015) "Motor role of parietal cortex in a monkey model of hemispatial neglect". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 112:E2067-72. [Supplement]

Perenin, M.T., Vighetto, A. (1988). "Optic ataxia, a specific disruption in visuomotor mechanisms". Brain 111, 643-674.

Warkdak, C., Olivier, E., Duhamel, J.R. (2002). "Saccadic target selection deficits after lateral intraparietal area inactivation in monkeys". J Neurosci.  22(22), 9877-9884.

Wilke, M., Kagan, I., Andersen, R.A. (2012). "Functional imaging reveals rapid reorganization of cortical activity after parietal inactivation in monkeys". Proc Natl Acad Sci. 109, 8274-8279.



Attention


05/12/2016 Krajbich, I., Armel, C., Rangel, A. (2010) "Visual fixations and the computation and comparison of value in simple choice". Nature Neurosci. 13(10):1292-8. Gabriela (Minh Nhat, Olivia)

Maunsell, J.H.R. (2004) "Neuronal representations of cognitive state: reward or attention?". Trends Cog. Sci. 8:261-265. Michelle (Nikhita, Albert)

Learning


05/17/2016 Schultz, W., Dayan, P. and Montague, R.R. (1997) "A neural substrate of prediction and reward". Science 275:1593-1599. Tomas (Constance, Cibele)
05/19/2016 Glascher, J., Daw, N.D., Dayan, P. and O'Doherty, J.P. (2010) "States versus rewards: dissociable neural prediction error signals underlying model-based and model-free reinforcement learning". Neuron 66: 585-595. Albert (Gabriela, Tomas)

Accumulation of evidence


05/24/2016 Erlich, J.C., Brunton, B.W., Duan, C.A., Hanks, T.D., Brody, C.D. (2015) "Distinct effects of prefrontal and parietal cortex inactivations on an accumulation of evidence task in the rat". eLife, 2015; 4:e05457. Ryan (Neha, Nikhita)

Challenges to current concepts


05/26/2016 Olson, C.R. and Leathers, M.L. (2012) "In monkeys making value-based decisions, LIP neurons encode salience and not action value". Science 338: 132-135. Gabriela (Olivia, Minh Nhat)

Newsome, W.T., Glimcher, P.W., Gottlieb, J., Lee, D., Platt, M.L. (2013) "Comment on "In monkeys making value-based decisions, LIP neurons encode salience and not action value"". Science 340: 430. HyeongChan (Michelle, Cibele)