Seminar · Behavioral Neuroscience
Deciding to stop deciding: A cortical-subcortical circuit for forming and terminating a decision
Michael Shadlen · Columbia University
Thu, Jun 10, 2021 · 01:00 UTC
The neurobiology of decision-making is informed by neurons capable of representing information over time scales of seconds. Such neurons were initially characterized in studies of spatial working memory, motor planning (e.g., Richard Andersen lab) and spatial attention. For decision-making, such neurons emit graded spike rates, that represent the accumulated evidence for or against a choice. They establish the conduit between the formation of the decision and its completion, usually in the form of a commitment to an action, even if provisional. Indeed, many decisions appear to arise through an