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Time-adaptive modulation of evidence evaluation in rat posterior parietal cortex.
Preetham Ganupuru1,2, Adam B Goldring1,3, Tanner Stevenson1
1Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|September 15, 2025
Summary
The brain adjusts evidence evaluation timescales for optimal decision-making. Neurons in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) show transient responses, reflecting this dynamic timescale adjustment crucial for change detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Decision Making
Background:
- Optimal decision-making requires evaluating evidence over appropriate timescales.
- The neural mechanisms for adjusting these timescales, particularly in transient change detection, remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how neuronal dynamics in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) support evidence evaluation over adjustable timescales during auditory change detection.
- To understand the role of PPC in flexible decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Recorded spiking activity from rat PPC neurons using Neuropixel probes during a free-response auditory change detection task.
- Utilized reversible inactivation of the PPC to assess its causal role in behavior.
Main Results:
- PPC neurons modulated activity by evidence strength and choice, with opposing excitatory and inhibitory populations.
- Neuronal responses to evidence were transient, with timescales matching behavioral evaluation periods.
- PPC showed "gain changes" reflecting behavioral urgency, and inactivation impaired performance and timescale evaluation.
Conclusions:
- PPC plays a critical role in auditory change detection by dynamically adjusting neuronal timescales of evidence evaluation.
- These findings suggest PPC contributes to flexible, free-response decisions requiring adaptive temporal processing.
