Two sources of uncertainty independently modulate temporal expectancy.

ABSTRACT: The environment is shaped by two sources of temporal uncertainty: the discrete probability of whether an event will occur and-if it does-the continuous probability of when it will happen. These two types of uncertainty are fundamental to every form of anticipatory behavior including learning, decision-making, and motor planning. It remains unknown how the brain models the two uncertainty parameters and how they interact in anticipation. It is commonly assumed that the discrete probability of whether an event will occur has a fixed effect on event expectancy over time. In contrast, we first demonstrate that this pattern is highly dynamic and monotonically increases across time. Intriguingly, this behavior is independent of the continuous probability of when an event will occur. The effect o

SUBMITTER: Grabenhorst M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8072397 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature