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Distinct basal ganglia contributions to learning from implicit and explicit value signals in perceptual
Tarryn Balsdon1,2, M Andrea Pisauro3,4, Marios G Philiastides5
1Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. tarryn.balsdon@glasgow.ac.uk.
Nature Communications
|June 22, 2024
Summary
Humans can learn from implicit confidence feedback, similar to explicit feedback. This study used EEG-fMRI to show distinct neural signals for both feedback types in the striatum, integrating in the globus pallidus to improve decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Decision Science
Background:
- Metacognitive confidence judgments offer insights into decision accuracy.
- This can guide learning, especially when explicit feedback is absent.
- Understanding implicit feedback mechanisms is crucial for learning theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare learning from implicit confidence feedback versus explicit feedback.
- To investigate the neural underpinnings of these feedback types using simultaneous EEG-fMRI.
- To identify brain regions involved in processing and integrating different feedback signals.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were employed.
- Participants performed a motion direction discrimination task with varying difficulty.
- EEG decoding identified single-trial post-decision confidence, while fMRI localized feedback processing.
Main Results:
- Neural signatures of post-decision confidence were identified using EEG decoding.
- Distinct neural signatures for implicit and explicit feedback were found in the striatum, along a dorsal-ventral gradient.
- These signals integrated in the external globus pallidus, suggesting a common pathway for updating decision processing.
Conclusions:
- The brain processes implicit confidence feedback and explicit feedback through separable neural pathways.
- These pathways converge in the basal ganglia (striatum, globus pallidus) for integration.
- This integrated signal may broadly enhance cortical decision-making, regardless of feedback source.
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