Humans strategically shift decision bias by flexibly adjusting sensory evidence accumulation.

ABSTRACT: Decision bias is traditionally conceptualized as an internal reference against which sensory evidence is compared. Instead, we show that individuals implement decision bias by shifting the rate of sensory evidence accumulation toward a decision bound. Participants performed a target detection task while we recorded EEG. We experimentally manipulated participants' decision criterion for reporting targets using different stimulus-response reward contingencies, inducing either a liberal or a conservative bias. Drift diffusion modeling revealed that a liberal strategy biased sensory evidence accumulation toward target-present choices. Moreover, a liberal bias resulted in stronger midfrontal pre-stimulus 2-6 Hz (theta) power and suppression of pre-stimulus 8-12 Hz (alpha) power in posterior cor

SUBMITTER: Kloosterman NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6365056 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature