Decoding Decision Dynamics: Unraveling Neural Correlates of Criterion Shifting

Poster Session D - Monday, April 15, 2024, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Sheraton Hall ABC

Courtney Durdle¹ (cadurdle@ucsb.edu), Sara Leslie¹, Evan Layher^1,2, Miguel Eckstein¹, Michael Miller¹; ¹University of California, Santa Barbara, ²Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

The ability to flexibly shift decision criterion thresholds (to criterion shift) has been found to be a uniquely stable individualistic cognitive trait, yet there is limited knowledge as to why this stability is observed. Under ambiguous circumstances, the ability to be more conservative or liberal has the potential to improve decision outcomes. We previously examined connectivity in association with 2 ROIs, the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and anterior insula, and have found that resting-state functional connectivity can help to identify brain regions associated with individual differences in strategic decision-making under ambiguous circumstances even when these regions are not directly activated by the task. However, a fuller characterization of the patterns of activation predictive of criterion-shifting behavior may help link this specific decision behavior with wider cognitive and computational processes. In prior investigations, extensive frontoparietal engagement has been identified in connection with the maintenance of conservative as opposed to liberal criteria in tasks related to recognition memory. Building on these insights, our current investigation aims to clarify the predictive capacity of resting-state functional connectivity in determining the extent of individual criterion shifts. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data from thirty participants were collected during a criterion-shifting recognition memory task and at rest. Our hypothesis posits that frontoparietal connectivity during rest correlates with the degree of criterion shifting. This research not only sheds light on the neural basis of criterion-shifting behavior but also contributes to a broader understanding of cognitive and computational processes associated with decision-making.

Topic Area: THINKING: Decision making