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An Automated T-maze Based Apparatus and Protocol for Analyzing Delay- and Effort-based Decision Making in Free Moving Rodents
Published on: August 2, 2018
Brain mechanisms controlling decision making and motor planning.
Arjun Ramakrishnan1, Aditya Murthy
1National Brain Research Centre, Nainwal Mode, Manesar, Haryana, India.
Progress in Brain Research
|January 16, 2013
Summary
Accumulator models explain decision-making and motor planning. This study extends these models to understand dynamic decision-making and motor control in complex environments using an oculomotor redirect task.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Decision Science
Background:
- Accumulator models offer a unified framework for decision-making and motor planning.
- Current models face limitations in explaining complex behaviors like sequential movements in dynamic environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test and extend accumulator models for dynamic decision-making and motor control.
- To investigate the limits of online modification in decision-making and motor planning.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an oculomotor "redirect" task where subjects altered planned eye movements.
- Analyzed task performance, saccade reaction time distributions, and computational models.
- Employed intracortical microstimulation of monkey frontal eye fields.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated the capability of accumulator models to explain dynamic decision-making.
- Provided evidence for extending accumulator models to account for complex motor control.
- Showcased how these models can be tested and refined using behavioral and neural data.
Conclusions:
- Accumulator models can be extended to capture dynamic aspects of decision-making and motor control.
- The oculomotor redirect task is a valuable paradigm for probing these dynamic processes.
- Findings advance our understanding of how the brain controls movement in changing environments.
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