Auditory accessory stimulus boosts pupil-linked arousal and reduces choice bias

Bruel, Bregtje M; Katopodis, Vasilis G; Vries, Romano de; Donner, Tobias H.; McGinley, Matthew J.; Gee, Jan Willem de

doi:10.1101/2022.08.28.505585

“…One previous study reported that task-irrelevant sounds can reduce choice bias (Bruel et al, 2022). However, in that task the auditory white noise was terminated upon the participant's choice (button press).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task-irrelevant stimuli reliably boost phasic pupil-linked arousal but do not affect decision formation

Hebisch,

Ghassemieh,

Zhecheva

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The arousal systems of the brainstem, specifically the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline system, respond "phasically" during decisions. These central arousal transients are accompanied by dilations of the pupil. Mechanistic attempts to understand the impact of phasic arousal on cognition would benefit from the ability to experimentally manipulate arousal in a temporally precise manner. Here, we evaluated a non-invasive candidate approach for such a manipulation in humans: presenting task-irrelevant auditory stimuli at different latencies during the execution of a challenging task. Task-irrelevant auditory stimuli drive responses of brainstem nuclei involved in the control of pupil size. But it is unknown whether such sound-evoked responses mimic the central arousal transients evoked during cognitive computations. A large body of evidence has implicated central arousal transients in a bias reduction during challenging perceptual decisions. We thus used challenging visual decisions as a testbed, combining them with task-irrelevant sounds of varying onset latency or duration. Across three experiments, the sounds consistently elicited well-controlled pupil responses that superimposed onto task-evoked responses. While we replicated a negative correlation between task-evoked pupil responses and bias established in previous work, the task-irrelevant sounds had no behavioral effect. This dissociation suggests that cognitive task engagement and task-irrelevant sounds may recruit distinct neural systems contributing to the control of pupil size.

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“…with pharmacology) and phasic (e.g. with accessory stimuli; Bruel et al, 2022; Tona et al, 2016) neuromodulator activity may be necessary to disentangle the respective and interactive effects of tonic and phasic neuromodulator activity on human perceptual decision-making.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catecholaminergic neuromodulation and selective attention jointly shape perceptual decision-making

Nuiten

¹

,

Gee

²

,

Fahrenfort

³

et al. 2022

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Perception of sensory input is influenced by fluctuations in ongoing neural activity, most prominently driven by attention and neuromodulator systems. It is currently unknown if neuromodulator activity and attention differentially modulate neural activity and perception or whether neuromodulatory systems in fact control attentional processes. We pharmacologically enhanced cholinergic (through donepezil) and catecholaminergic (through atomoxetine) levels in humans performing a visual attention task to investigate the effects of neuromodulatory drive and spatial attention on neural activity and behavior. Attention and catecholaminergic enhancement both improved perceptual sensitivity by increasing the rate of evidence accumulation towards a decision threshold (cholinergic effects were negligible). Electroencephalographic recordings revealed that attention and catecholaminergic enhancement both modulated pre-stimulus cortical excitability, evoked sensory processes and parietal evidence accumulation. Crucially however, the spatial profile and timing of these effects were remarkably different. This suggests that selective attention and neuromodulatory systems shape perception largely independently and in qualitatively different ways.

show abstract

Catecholaminergic neuromodulation and selective attention jointly shape perceptual decision-making

Nuiten

¹

,

Gee

²

,

Fahrenfort

³

et al. 2023

eLife

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perception of sensory input is influenced by fluctuations in ongoing neural activity, most prominently driven by attention and neuromodulator systems. It is currently unknown if neuromodulator activity and attention differentially modulate neural activity and perception or whether neuromodulatory systems in fact control attentional processes. We pharmacologically enhanced cholinergic (through donepezil) and catecholaminergic (through atomoxetine) levels in humans performing a visual attention task to investigate the effects of neuromodulatory drive and spatial attention on neural activity and behavior. Attention and catecholaminergic enhancement both improved perceptual sensitivity by increasing the rate of evidence accumulation towards a decision threshold (cholinergic effects were negligible). Electroencephalographic recordings revealed that attention and catecholaminergic enhancement both modulated pre-stimulus cortical excitability, evoked sensory processes and parietal evidence accumulation. Crucially however, the spatial profile and timing of these effects were remarkably different. This suggests that selective attention and neuromodulatory systems shape perception largely independently and in qualitatively different ways.

show abstract

Auditory accessory stimulus boosts pupil-linked arousal and reduces choice bias

Cited by 5 publications

References 99 publications

Task-irrelevant stimuli reliably boost phasic pupil-linked arousal but do not affect decision formation

Task-irrelevant stimuli reliably boost phasic pupil-linked arousal but do not affect decision formation

Catecholaminergic neuromodulation and selective attention jointly shape perceptual decision-making

Catecholaminergic neuromodulation and selective attention jointly shape perceptual decision-making

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