Touchscreen response precision is sensitive to the explore/exploit tradeoff.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science
• Decision Science

Background:

• The explore/exploit tradeoff is crucial for reward-guided decision making.
• Motor precision in perceptual tasks correlates with decision certainty, even without motor demands.
• Variables influencing motor precision and subjective certainty in reward-guided decisions remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors shaping motor precision and subjective certainty during reward-guided decision making.
• To determine if explore/exploit state, reward history, or individual differences affect touchscreen interaction precision.
• To explore the utility of touchscreen tasks in revealing neural states linking cognition and movement.

Main Methods:

• Utilized touchscreen tasks across mice to measure choice selection and action precision.
• Parametrically controlled uncertainty and reward contingencies.
• Analyzed precision differences based on explore/exploit states, past rewards, and sex.

Main Results:

• Motor precision increased during exploit states compared to explore states, suggesting higher certainty.
• Exploit choice precision was enhanced independently of precision increases due to immediate past reward.
• Male mice demonstrated less precision than females, irrespective of the decision state.

Conclusions:

• Motor precision in reward-guided decision making increases with certainty during exploitation, independent of motor requirements.
• Touchscreen interaction precision is modulated by explore/exploit dynamics, reward history, and individual (sex-based) differences.
• Touchscreen tasks offer a valuable tool for uncovering latent neural states that integrate cognitive and motor processes across species.