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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.01.12.699039

History-dependent Biases in Perceptual Decisions Depend on NMDA Receptors

Toso, A.·Arazi, A.·Braun, A.·Marin-Campos, R.·Sterzer, P.·de la Rocha, J.·Donner, T. H.
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Abstract

Perceptual decisions are governed not only by current sensory input but also by the history of previous stimuli, choices, or outcomes. Such history-dependent biases evolve across multiple timescales ranging from seconds to minutes. Synaptic plasticity is one possible mechanism mediating such effects. The by N-methyl-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor is critical for synaptic plasticity, and indirect evidence points to its role in the generation of history-dependent biases. Here, we pharmacologically blocked NMDA receptors in healthy human participants performing a two-alternative visual decision-making task. Participants choices were biased by the accumulation of fluctuating sensory evidence within each trial as well as the accumulation of across-trial sequences of stimuli, which enabled them to adapt to changing stimulus statistics across blocks. NMDA receptor blockade reduced the task-adaptive across trials, history-dependent biases. In contrast, enhancing GABA-A receptor activity in the same participants increased the transiency of the within-trial evidence accumulation dynamics. Our findings provide direct evidence for the importance of NMDA receptor function in history-dependent biases in the human brain.

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Toso, A., Arazi, A., Braun, A., Marin-Campos, R., Sterzer, P., de la Rocha, J., Donner, T. H.. 2026-01-13. History-dependent Biases in Perceptual Decisions Depend on NMDA Receptors. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.12.699039

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