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Mechanisms for Perceptual Decision-Making in the Human Brain
(VTC)
Leslie Ungerleider, PhD
Chief of the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition
National Institute of Mental Health
Bethesda, Maryland
A research seminar in the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Series
Findings from single-cell recording studies suggest that a comparison of the outputs of different pools of selectively tuned lower-level sensory neurons may be a general mechanism by which higher-level cortical regions compute perceptual decisions. For example, when monkeys must decide whether a noisy field of dots is moving upward or downward, a decision can be formed by computing the difference in responses between lower-level neurons sensitive to upward motion and those sensitive to downward motion. Dr. Ungerleider will present evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging that even for high-level object categories, the comparison of the outputs of different pools of selectively tuned neurons could be a general mechanism by which the human brain computes perceptual decisions. She will also argue that the posterior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in humans has general decision-making functions, independent of stimulus and response modalities, thereby providing a flexible link between sensory evidence, decision, and action.
Live Webcast: http://research.vtc.vt.edu/live-webcast
Hosted by: Michael J. Friedlander, PhD, Executive Director, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute
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540-526-2013