Biology subjects

Kurtzer, I. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Kurtzer, I. L..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Deliberation is a controllable process governed by desirability and cognitive effort

Humans spend a lifetime making decisions based on incoming sensory information and goals. Prominent theories of perceptual decision-making have described the components of deliber-ation process, yet they lack a unifying principle that governs how the nervous system tunes the deliberation process across multiple contexts. Desirability (reward) and effort (energy) are major determinants in governing a broad range of human and animal behaviour, such as for-aging, walking, and decisions. Here we develop a theory where desirability and cognitive effort tune the control gains that govern deliberation. Several hallmark features of decision behaviour simply emerge from the model, with the deliberation process closely resembling low-dimensional neural dynamics. We also predict and provide a novel mechanistic explanation for choking-under-pressure, where extremely large rewards lead to performance deficits. Our principled framework explains both behavioural and neural phenomena while providing a path to unify disparate fields.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Online movements reflect ongoing deliberation

From navigating a crowded hallway to skiing down a treacherous hill, humans are constantly making decisions while moving. Insightful past work has provided a glimpse of decision deliberation at the moment of movement onset. Yet it is unknown whether ongoing deliberation can be expressed during movement, following movement onset and prior to any decision. Here we tested the idea that an ongoing deliberation continually influences motor processes--prior to a decision--directing online movements. Over three experiments, we manipulated evidence to influence deliberation during movement. The deliberation process was manipulated by having participants observe evidence in the form of tokens that moved into a left or right target. Supporting our hypothesis we found that lateral hand movements reflected deliberation, prior to a decision. We also found that a deliberation urgency signal, which more heavily weighs later evidence, was fundamental to predicting decisions and explains past movement behaviour in a new light. Our paradigm promotes the expression of ongoing deliberation through movement, providing a powerful new window into understanding the interplay between decision and action.

neuroscience↗