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

ABSTRACT: 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 temporally precise experimental manipulations. Here, we evaluated a non-invasive candidate approach to manipulate arousal 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

SUBMITTER: Hebisch J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11570621 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature