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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.04.05.438491

Dynamic task-belief is an integral part of decision-making

Xue, C.·Kramer, L. E.·Cohen, M. R.
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Abstract

Natural decisions involve two seemingly separable processes: inferring the relevant task (task-belief) and performing the believed-relevant task. The assumed separability has led to the traditional practice of studying task-switching and perceptual decision-making individually. Here, we used a novel paradigm to manipulate and measure macaque monkeys task-belief, and demonstrated inextricable neuronal links between flexible task-belief and perceptual decision-making. We showed that in animals, but not artificial networks that performed as well or better than the animals, stronger task-belief is associated with better perception. Correspondingly, recordings from neuronal populations in cortical areas 7a and V1 revealed that stronger task-belief is associated with better discriminability of the believed-relevant but not the believed-irrelevant feature. Perception also impacts belief updating: noise fluctuations in V1 help explain how task-belief is updated. Our results demonstrate that complex tasks and multi-area recordings can reveal fundamentally new principles of how biology affects behavior in health and disease.

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Xue, C., Kramer, L. E., Cohen, M. R.. 2021-04-06. Dynamic task-belief is an integral part of decision-making. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.05.438491

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