Triple dissociation of attention and decision computations across prefrontal cortex

• Published in: Nature neuroscience Vol. 21; no. 10; pp. 1471 - 1481
• Main Authors: Hunt, Laurence T., Malalasekera, W. M. Nishantha, de Berker, Archy O., Miranda, Bruno, Farmer, Simon F., Behrens, Timothy E. J., Kennerley, Steven W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01-10-2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/1662; 631/378/1788; 631/378/2649/1409; Action Potentials - physiology; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animals; Attention - physiology; Attention task; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain Mapping; Cortex (cingulate); Cues; Decision making; Decision Making - physiology; Macaca mulatta; Male; Models, Neurological; Monkeys; Neurobiology; Neurons - physiology; Neurosciences; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Reinforcement, Psychology; Saccades - physiology; Saccadic eye movements; Visual task performance
• ISSN: 1097-6256; 1546-1726
• DOI: 10.1038/s41593-018-0239-5

Naturalistic decision-making typically involves sequential deployment of attention to choice alternatives to gather information before a decision is made. Attention filters how information enters decision circuits, thus implying that attentional control may shape how decision computations unfold. We recorded neuronal activity from three subregions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) while monkeys performed an attention-guided decision-making task. From the first saccade to decision-relevant information, a triple dissociation of decision- and attention-related computations emerged in parallel across PFC subregions. During subsequent saccades, orbitofrontal cortex activity reflected the value comparison between currently and previously attended information. In contrast, the anterior cingulate cortex carried several signals reflecting belief updating in light of newly attended information, the integration of evidence to a decision bound and an emerging plan for what action to choose. Our findings show how anatomically dissociable PFC representations evolve during attention-guided information search, supporting computations critical for value-guided choice.
Hunt, Malalasekera et al. recorded populations of prefrontal neurons from monkeys performing a visual attention-guided-choice task. The results revealed that distinct computations in three PFC subregions as information was sampled guided the eventual decision.