An information theory account of cognitive control

Fan, Jin

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00680

Cited by 162 publications

(175 citation statements)

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“…sampling must ultimately support reward maximization? One possible answer to this question comes from studies of cognitive control, which suggest that actions that require attentive control are those associated with new information, whereas actions that have low uncertainty are habitual and can be performed with little attention (43)(44)(45). This implies that the brain must triage cognitive effort according to not only future rewards but also the informational demands of a situation, requiring a rewardindependent sensitivity to EIG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parietal neurons encode expected gains in instrumental information

Foley

Kelly

Mhatre

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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In natural behavior, animals have access to multiple sources of information, but only a few of these sources are relevant for learning and actions. Beyond choosing an appropriate action, making good decisions entails the ability to choose the relevant information, but fundamental questions remain about the brain's information sampling policies. Recent studies described the neural correlates of seeking information about a reward, but it remains unknown whether, and how, neurons encode choices of instrumental information, in contexts in which the information guides subsequent actions. Here we show that parietal cortical neurons involved in oculomotor decisions encode, before an information sampling saccade, the reduction in uncertainty that the saccade is expected to bring for a subsequent action. These responses were distinct from the neurons' visual and saccadic modulations and from signals of expected reward or reward prediction errors. Therefore, even in an instrumental context when information and reward gains are closely correlated, individual cells encode decision variables that are based on informational factors and can guide the active sampling of action-relevant cues.information sampling | saccades | attention | decisions | reward I n natural behavior, animals have access to multiple sources of information, but few of these sources are relevant for learning or action. Making good decisions therefore entails not only the selection of the ultimate action but, more primarily, the decision of which source of information to sample. Decisions about information sampling are central for tasks as diverse as making a medical diagnosis (which is the best test to prescribe?), making categorization decisions (which is the most informative feature?) (1, 2), and guiding skilled actions (what should I keep my eyes on while driving?). Despite the ubiquity and significance of active sampling mechanisms, few studies have been devoted to understanding these mechanisms and their importance for decision theories. Evidence accumulation has been extensively examined in decision research (3) but has been portrayed as a passive process, in the sense that decision makers rely on predetermined (experimenter selected) sources of information but cannot themselves determine which source to consult to guide a future action.Recent studies begin to shed light on this question by showing that animals (including pigeons, monkeys, and humans) prefer to observe cues that are predictive rather than nonpredictive about a future reward, and that the value of informative cues is encoded in the orbital frontal cortex and midbrain dopamine (DA) cells (4, 5). These investigations, however, have been limited to noninstrumental contexts in which animals seek to obtain information about a reward merely in order to know, but cannot act based on the information. Very little is known about the much more common scenario in which animals sample instrumental information to make decisions and guide future actions (6).Understanding instrumental sampling poses...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parietal neurons encode expected gains in instrumental information

Foley

Kelly

Mhatre

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Frontoparietal activity has been found to scale with the amount of cognitive control required by tasks and, in particular, the amount of uncertainty within a decision (Fan, 2014;Fan et al, 2014). The common recruitment of this network during free decisions is thought to result from the greater demand on selection processes required when choosing between multiple options, compared to simple goal maintenance for instructed choices (Bunge et al, 2002;Duncan, 2013;Frith, 1991;Hadland et al, 2001;Thimm et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, recruitment of the ACC at a time preceding action preparation suggest a role related more broadly to information processing. One theory suggests that the ACC routes information on the basis of information content, or uncertainty, which in this case would relate to the higher number of options to compare and choose between in the free choice trials compared to instructed trials (Fan, 2014). Another possibility is that ACC activation in this task may have been related to its role in conflict monitoring (Botvinick, 2007), as the restriction of choice options based on the previous choice required conflict resolution to inhibit the option that could not be chosen on that trial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conflict is thought to be an inherent aspect of any decision that requires selecting between multiple options, and could be attributed to the conflict in weighing options to freely make a choice (Botvinick, 2007;Brass & Haggard, 2008;Lau, Rogers, Ramnani, et al, 2004;Nachev et al, 2005;Turk et al, 2004;Walton et al, 2004). ACC activity is greater not only for free choices but also other conditions associated with greater uncertainty, such as random sequence generation (Fan, 2014).…”

Section: Choice Selection Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This function measures the similarity between two curved trajectories to find the minimum distance that connects each line (Eiter & Mannila, 1994;Fréchet, 1906). …”

Section: Decision Trajectory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rens¹

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As we navigate the world, we prepare to make voluntary decisions in relation to the opportunities afforded by the environment. An essential aspect of these decisions is that they are experienced with a sense of free will. In both philosophical and layperson accounts of free will, the "ability to choose otherwise" serves a central role and, further, there is evidence that individuals preferentially choose options that maximise the availability of choice. The underlying reason for this widespread emphasis on choice has been difficult to reconcile with traditional views of free will and decision-making.Embodied theories of decision-making propose that individuals are driven to be in states where a greater number of options are available because this maximises their perceived ability to influence the environment in future states. This view places critical emphasis on the period of time that precedes a decision, during which individuals proactively prepare for the upcoming decision. On this basis, a decision may be experienced as free if the individual believes himself to have multiple potential options available. Studies have shown the ability to predict free choices but little is known about the role potential options plays during the voluntary decision-making process.In my thesis, I investigated the proactive neural processes of voluntary decisionmaking in dynamic environments. In particular, I aimed to test the hypothesis that free decisions are associated with a proactive state in which multiple potential choices are considered. To do so, I carried out a set of three studies where I examined behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of participants while they performed free decisions in virtual environments.In Chapter 2, I designed an fMRI study to investigate the neural patterns of activity preceding a free decision. I found that frontoparietal and salience networks were more active for free decisions than instructed decisions during an initial period of proactive choice selection. Using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA), I showed that upcoming choices could be predicted from both the motor and visual cortices once participants were able to match their planned colour choice to its spatial location. Notably, the decoding accuracy for free decisions was lower than instructed decisions, indicating less reliable choice representation.This corresponded to eye fixation results showing greater visual attention to the alternative options in the case of free decisions, together indicating that choice consideration may be an ongoing process when individuals freely prepare decisions. iiiIn Chapter 3, I tested whether the state of having alternative options was reflected in neural representations of upcoming choices and, further, if this translated to differences in the subjective experience of free choice. In this fMRI study, I found that the availability of an alternative option could be decoded from patterns of activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Moreover, decoding accuracy ...

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Adv Materials Inter

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New device concepts and new computing principles are needed to balance our ever-growing appetite for data and information with the realization of the goals of increased energy efficiency, reduction in CO 2 emissions and the circular economy. Neuromorphic or synaptic electronics is an emerging field of research aiming to overcome the current computer's Von-Neumann bottleneck by building artificial neuronal systems to mimic the extremely energy efficient biological synapses. The introduction of photovoltaic and/or photonic aspects into these neuromorphic architectures will produce self-powered adaptive electronics but may also open up new possibilities in artificial neuroscience, artificial neural communications, sensing and machine learning which would enable, in turn, a new era for computational systems owing to the possibility of attaining high bandwidths with much reduced power consumption. This perspective is focused on recent progress in the implementation of functional oxide thinfilms into photovoltaic and neuromorphic applications towards the envisioned goal of selfpowered photovoltaic neuromorphic systems or a solar brain.

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An information theory account of cognitive control

Cited by 162 publications

References 194 publications

Parietal neurons encode expected gains in instrumental information

Parietal neurons encode expected gains in instrumental information

Neural dynamics of voluntary decision-making

Functional Oxides for Photoneuromorphic Engineering: Toward a Solar Brain

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