LATER models of neural decision behavior in choice tasks.

Imran Noorani

doi:10.3389/fnint.2014.00067

Abstract

Reaction time has been increasingly used over the last few decades to provide information on neural decision processes: it is a direct reflection of decision time. Saccades provide an excellent paradigm for this because many of them can be made in a very short time and the underlying neural pathways are relatively well-known. LATER (linear approach to threshold with ergodic rate) is a model originally devised to explain reaction time distributions in simple decision tasks. Recently, however it is being extended to increasingly more advanced tasks, including those with decision errors and those requiring voluntary control such as the antisaccade task and those where sequential decisions are required. The strength of this modeling approach lies in its detailed, quantitative predictions of behavior, yet LATER models still retain their conceptual simplicity that made LATER initially successful in explaining reaction times in simple decision tasks.

Highlights

Imran Noorani*Reaction time has been increasingly used over the last few decades to provide information on neural decision processes: it is a direct reflection of decision time
The question of how we choose one option over another has intrigued neuroscientists in the field of neural decision-making for many decades
Simulating complete reaction time distributions has been a triumph of the LATER models of decision, which in recent years has been applied to increasingly complex tasks including the go/no-go and antisaccade tasks

Summary

Imran Noorani*

Reaction time has been increasingly used over the last few decades to provide information on neural decision processes: it is a direct reflection of decision time. It is being extended to increasingly more advanced tasks, including those with decision errors and those requiring voluntary control such as the antisaccade task and those where sequential decisions are required. The strength of this modeling approach lies in its detailed, quantitative predictions of behavior, yet LATER models still retain their conceptual simplicity that made LATER initially successful in explaining reaction times in simple decision tasks

INTRODUCTION

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS