Consistent patterns of distractor effects during decision making
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
- University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
The value of a third potential option or distractor can alter the way in which decisions are made between two other options. Two hypotheses have received empirical support: that a high value distractor improves the accuracy with which decisions between two other options are made and that it impairs accuracy. Recently, however, it has been argued that neither observation is replicable. Inspired by neuroimaging data showing that high value distractors have different impacts on prefrontal and parietal regions, we designed a dual route decision-making model that mimics the neural signals of these regions. Here we show in the dual route model and empirical data that both enhancement and impairment effects are robust phenomena but predominate in different parts of the decision space defined by the options' and the distractor's values. However, beyond these constraints, both effects co-exist under similar conditions. Moreover, both effects are robust and observable in six experiments.
Data availability
The codes for running the mutual inhibition model, divisive normalization model, dual route model and null model can be found at:https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6djh9w3cBehavioural data of Experiments 1, 3 and 7 can be found at:https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.040h9t7Behavioural data of Experiments 2, 4-6 can be found from a link provided by Gluth and colleagues (2018) at:https://osf.io/8r4fh/Behavioural and eye tracking data of Experiment 8 can be found at:https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k6djh9w3c
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Consistent patterns of distractor effects during decision makingDryad Digital Repository, 10.5061/dryad.k6djh9w3c.
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Data from: A neural mechanism underlying failure of optimal choice with multiple alternativesDryad Digital Repository, 10.5061/dryad.040h9t7.
Article and author information
Author details
Alizée Lopez-Persem
Miriam C Klein-Flügge
Funding
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (25610316)
- Bolton K H Chau
Wellcome (WT100973AIA)
- Matthew F S Rushworth
Wellcome (203139/Z/16/Z)
- Matthew F S Rushworth
Medical Research Council (MR/P024955/1)
- Matthew F S Rushworth
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Human subjects: Experiments 3, 7 and 8 were approved by ethics committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Experiment 1 was approved by that of University of Oxford.
Copyright
© 2020, Chau et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Consistent patterns of distractor effects during decision making
eLife 9:e53850.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.53850
Further reading
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- Neuroscience
Humans and other animals often violate economic principles when choosing between multiple alternatives, but the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms remain elusive. A robust finding is that adding a third option can alter the relative preference for the original alternatives, but studies disagree on whether the third option’s value decreases or increases accuracy. To shed light on this controversy, we used and extended the paradigm of one study reporting a positive effect. However, our four experiments with 147 human participants and a reanalysis of the original data revealed that the positive effect is neither replicable nor reproducible. In contrast, our behavioral and eye-tracking results are best explained by assuming that the third option’s value captures attention and thereby impedes accuracy. We propose a computational model that accounts for the complex interplay of value, attention, and choice. Our theory explains how choice sets and environments influence the neurocognitive processes of multi-alternative decision making.
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- Neuroscience
- Physics of Living Systems
Neurons generate and propagate electrical pulses called action potentials which annihilate on arrival at the axon terminal. We measure the extracellular electric field generated by propagating and annihilating action potentials and find that on annihilation, action potentials expel a local discharge. The discharge at the axon terminal generates an inhomogeneous electric field that immediately influences target neurons and thus provokes ephaptic coupling. Our measurements are quantitatively verified by a powerful analytical model which reveals excitation and inhibition in target neurons, depending on position and morphology of the source-target arrangement. Our model is in full agreement with experimental findings on ephaptic coupling at the well-studied Basket cell-Purkinje cell synapse. It is able to predict ephaptic coupling for any other synaptic geometry as illustrated by a few examples.
