Biology subjects

Vinckier, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Vinckier, F..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

The online metacognitive control of decisions

Difficult decisions typically involve mental effort, which scales with the deployment of cognitive (e.g., mnesic, attentional) resources engaged in processing decision-relevant information. But how does the brain regulate mental effort? A possibility is that the brain optimizes a resource allocation problem, whereby the amount of invested resources balances its expected cost (i.e. effort) and benefit. Our working assumption is that subjective decision confidence serves as the benefit term of the resource allocation problem, hence the "metacognitive" nature of decision control. Here, we present a computational model for the online metacognitive control of decisions or oMCD. Formally, oMCD is a Markov Decision Process that optimally solves the ensuing resource allocation problem under agnostic assumptions about the inner workings of the underlying decision system. We demonstrate how this makes oMCD a quasi-optimal control policy for a broad class of decision processes, including -but not limited to- progressive attribute integration. We disclose oMCDs main properties (in terms of choice, confidence and response time), and show that they reproduce most established empirical results in the field of value-based decision making. Finally, we discuss the possible connections between oMCD and most prominent neurocognitive theories about decision control and mental effort regulation.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2021

Intracerebral mechanisms explaining the impact of incidental feedback on mood state and risky choice

Identifying factors whose fluctuations are associated with choice inconsistency is a major issue for rational decision theory. Here, we investigated the neuro-computational mechanisms through which mood fluctuations may bias human choice behavior. Intracerebral EEG data were collected in a large group of participants (n = 30), while they were performing interleaved quiz and choice tasks. Neural baseline activity preceding choice onset was confronted first to mood level, estimated by a computational model integrating the feedbacks received in the quiz task, and then to the weighting of option attributes, in a computational model predicting risk attitude in the choice task. Results showed that 1) elevated broadband gamma activity (BGA) in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsal anterior insula (daIns) was respectively signaling periods of high and low mood, 2) increased vmPFC and daIns BGA respectively promoted and tempered risk taking by overweighting gain versus loss prospects. Thus, incidental feedbacks induce brain states that correspond to different moods and bias the comparison of safe and risky options. More generally, these findings might explain why people experiencing positive (or negative) outcome in some part of their life tend to expect success (or failure) in any other.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Interoception of breathing and its relationship with anxiety

Interoception, the perception of internal bodily states, is thought to be inextricably linked to affective qualities such as anxiety. While interoception spans sensory to metacognitive processing, it is not clear whether anxiety is differentially related to these processing levels. Here we investigated this question in the domain of breathing, using computational modelling and high-field (7 Tesla) fMRI to assess brain activity relating to dynamic changes in inspiratory resistance of varying predictability. Notably, the anterior insula was associated with both breathing-related prediction certainty and prediction errors, suggesting an important role in representing and updating models of the body. Individuals with low vs. moderate anxiety traits showed differential anterior insula activity for prediction certainty. Multimodal analyses of data from fMRI, computational assessments of breathing-related metacognition, and questionnaires demonstrated that anxiety-interoception links span all levels from perceptual sensitivity to metacognition, with strong effects seen at higher levels of interoceptive processes.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Premature commitment to uncertain beliefs during human NMDA receptor hypofunction

In uncertain environments, accurate decision-making requires integrating ambiguous or conflicting signals - a cognitive inference process thought to require n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) synaptic receptors. Here we characterized the causal impact of human NMDA receptor hypofunction on cognitive inference using placebo-controlled infusions of ketamine in a visual cue combination task. Participants tested under ketamine showed elevated uncertainty, together with impaired cognitive inference despite intact visual processing. This behavioral effect of ketamine was associated in patterns of electrical brain activity with degraded and unbalanced coding of presented cues in associative cortex, followed by premature response preparation in motor cortex. Through quantitative simulations, we propose that these cognitive alterations reflect an urge to explain away the elevated uncertainty triggered by ketamine. This compensatory mechanism may cause the emergence of psychotic symptoms observed under chronic NMDA receptor dysfunction, but also forge unusually strong beliefs when confronted with uncertainty in everyday life.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Inhibition of the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in human cells by the FDA-approved drug chlorpromazine

Urgent action is needed to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by reducing the number of infected people along with the infection contagiousness and severity. Chlorpromazine (CPZ), the prototype of typical antipsychotics from the phenothiazine group, is known to inhibit clathrin-mediated endocytosis and acts as an antiviral, in particular against SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. In this study, we describe the in vitro testing of CPZ against a SARS-CoV-2 isolate in monkey and human cells. We evidenced an antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 with an IC50 of [~]10M. Because of its high biodistribution in lung, saliva and brain, such IC50 measured in vitro may translate to CPZ dosage used in clinical routine. This extrapolation is in line with our observations of a higher prevalence of symptomatic and severe forms of COVID-19 infections among health care professionals compared to patients in psychiatric wards. These preclinical findings support the repurposing of CPZ, a largely used drug with mild side effects, in COVID-19 treatment.

microbiology↗