Rapid visuomotor responses reflect value-based decisions
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Abstract
Cognitive decision making is known to be sensitive to the values of potential options, that is the probability and size of rewards associated with different choices. Here, we examine whether rapid motor responses to perturbations of visual feedback about movement, which mediate low-level and involuntary feedback control loops, reflect computations associated with high-level value-based decision making. In three experiments involving human participants, we varied the value associated with different potential targets for reaching movements by controlling the distributions of rewards across the targets (experiment 1), the probability with which each target could be specified (experiment 2), or both (experiment 3). We found that the size of rapid and involuntary feedback responses to movement perturbations was strongly influenced by the relative value between targets. A statistical model of relative value that includes a term for risk sensitivity provided the best fit to the visuomotor response data, illustrating that feedback control policies are biased to favour more frequent task success at the expense of the overall extrinsic reward accumulated through movement. Importantly however, the regulation of rapid feedback responses was associated with successful pursuit of high-value task outcomes. This implies that when we move, the brain specifies a set of feedback control gains that enable low-level motor areas not only to generate efficient and accurate movement, but also to rapidly and adaptively respond to evolving sensory information in a manner consistent with value-based decision making.
Description
Keywords
Journal Title
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
1529-2401
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (110257/Z/15/Z)