Biology subjects

Niessen, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Niessen, E..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Neural correlates of confidence during decision formation in a perceptual judgment task

When we make a decision, we also estimate the probability that our choice is correct or accurate. This probability estimate is termed our degree of decision confidence. Recent work has reported event-related potential (ERP) correlates of confidence both during decision formation (the centro-parietal positivity component; CPP) and after a decision has been made (the error positivity component; Pe). However, there are several measurement confounds that complicate the interpretation of these findings. More recent studies that overcome these issues have so far produced conflicting results. To better characterise the ERP correlates of confidence we presented participants with a comparative brightness judgment task while recording electroencephalography. Participants judged which of two flickering squares (varying in luminance over time) was brighter on average. Participants then gave confidence ratings ranging from "surely incorrect" to "surely correct". To elicit a range of confidence ratings we manipulated both the mean luminance difference between the brighter and darker squares (relative evidence) and the overall luminance of both squares (absolute evidence). We found larger CPP amplitudes in trials with higher confidence ratings. This association was not simply a by-product of differences in relative evidence (which covaries with confidence) across trials. We did not identify postdecisional ERP correlates of confidence, except when they were artificially produced by pre-response ERP baselines. These results provide further evidence for neural correlates of processes that inform confidence judgments during decision formation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Why does the error negativity peak higher when accuracy is emphasised over speed? The impact of noise and single-trial latency variability challenges traditional interpretations

Understanding human error processing is a highly relevant interdisciplinary goal. More than 30 years of research in this field have established the error negativity (Ne) as a fundamental electrophysiological marker of various types of erroneous decisions (e.g. perceptual, economic) and related clinically relevant variations. A common finding is that the Ne is more pronounced when participants are instructed to focus on response accuracy rather than response speed, an observation that has been interpreted as reflecting more thorough error processing. We challenge this wide-spread interpretation by demonstrating that when controlling for the level of non-event-related noise in the participant-average waveform and for single-trial peak latency variability, the significant speed-accuracy difference in the participant-average waveform vanishes. This suggests that the previously reported Ne differences may be mostly attributable to a more precise alignment of neuro-cognitive processes and not (only) to more intense error processing under accuracy instructions, opening up novel perspectives on previous findings.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

The relationship between response dynamics and the formation of confidence varies across the lifespan

Accurate metacognitive judgements, such as forming a confidence judgement, are crucial for goaldirected behaviour but decline with older age. Besides changes in the sensory processing of stimulus features, there might also be changes in the motoric aspects of giving responses that account for age-related changes in confidence. In order to assess the association between confidence and response parameters across the adult lifespan, we measured response times and peak forces in a four-choice flanker task with subsequent confidence judgements. In 65 healthy adults from 20 to 76 years of age, we showed divergent associations of each measure with confidence, depending on decision accuracy. Participants indicated higher confidence after faster responses in correct but not incorrect trials. They also indicated higher confidence after less forceful responses in errors but not in correct trials. Notably, these associations were age-dependent as the relationship between confidence and response time was more pronounced in older participants, while the relationship between confidence and response force decayed with age. Our results add to the notion that confidence is related to response parameters and demonstrate noteworthy changes in the observed associations across the adult lifespan. These changes potentially constitute an expression of general age-related deficits in performance monitoring or, alternatively, index a failing mechanism in the computation of confidence in older adults.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Speeded Inference Game: Opening a new chapter in the assessment of error awareness

Influential theories on error processing assume that when we conduct errors adaptive processes are triggered to improve our behaviour and prevent errors in the future. These processes appear to be more effective after participants have detected an error. Therefore, the assessment of error awareness allowing a differential analysis of detected and undetected errors in the context of cognitive control and behavioural adjustments has gained more and more attention in the past decades. A common methodological challenge posed on all studies investigating error detection is that the number of undetected errors is usually relatively low. Here, we introduce a gamified experimental task that uses an adaptive algorithm to generate a robust and stable amount of errors with a high rate of undetected errors. Further, we were able to identify error types, which interestingly differed in terms of their detection rate. Moreover, the game-like appearance of the novel experimental task led to highly motivated participants. The results of the first study were replicated and extended by a second behavioural study. Notably, in study 2, a change in task design specifically modulated error detection, while these changes did not affect the total error rate. Potential applications of the open-source code will be discussed. With this newly developed paradigm, we wish to lay the ground for future research to understand better (neural) processes associated with error awareness.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Divergent effects of absolute evidence magnitude on decision accuracy and confidence in perceptual judgements

Whether people change their mind after making a perceptual judgement may depend on how confident they are in their decision. Recently, it was shown that, when making perceptual judgements about stimuli containing high levels of absolute evidence (i.e., the overall magnitude of sensory evidence across choice options), people make less accurate decisions and are also slower to change their mind and correct their mistakes. Here we report two studies that investigated whether high levels of absolute evidence also lead to increased decision confidence. We used a luminance judgment task in which participants decided which of two dynamic, flickering stimuli was brighter. After making a decision, participants rated their confidence. We manipulated relative evidence (i.e., the mean luminance difference between the two stimuli) and absolute evidence (i.e., the summed luminance of the two stimuli). In the first experiment, we found that higher absolute evidence was associated with decreased decision accuracy but increased decision confidence. In the second experiment, we additionally manipulated the degree of luminance variability to assess whether the observed effects were due to differences in perceived evidence variability. We replicated the results of the first experiment but did not find substantial effects of luminance variability on confidence ratings. Our findings support the view that decisions and confidence judgments are based on partly dissociable sources of information, and suggest that decisions initially made with higher confidence may be more resistant to subsequent changes of mind.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Neural correlates of metacognition across the adult lifespan

Metacognitive accuracy describes the degree of overlap between the subjective perception of ones decision accuracy (i.e., confidence) and objectively observed performance. With older age, the need for accurate metacognitive evaluation increases; however, error detection rates typically decrease. We investigated the effect of ageing on metacognitive accuracy using event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting error detection and confidence: the error/correct negativity (Ne/c) and the error/correct positivity (Pe/c). Sixty-five healthy adults (20 to 76 years) completed a complex perceptual task and provided confidence ratings. We found that metacognitive accuracy declined with age beyond the expected decline in task performance, while the adaptive adjustment of behaviour was well preserved. Pe/c amplitudes varied by confidence rating, but they did not mirror the reduction in metacognitive accuracy. Ne/c amplitudes decreased with age except for high confidence correct responses. The results suggest that age-related difficulties in metacognitive evaluation could be related to an impaired integration of decision accuracy and confidence information processing. Ultimately, training the metacognitive evaluation of fundamental decisions in older adults might constitute a promising endeavour.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Temporal discounting in adolescents and adults with Tourette syndrome

BackgroundTourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder with the clinical hallmarks of motor and phonic tics which are associated with hyperactivity in dopaminergic networks. Dopaminergic hyperactivity in the basal ganglia has previously been linked to increased sensitivity to positive reinforcement and increases in choice impulsivity. ObjectiveWe address whether this extends to changes in temporal discounting, where impulsivity is operationalized as an increased preference to choose smaller-but-sooner over larger-but-later rewards. Results are discussed with respect to neural models of temporal discounting, dopaminergic alterations in Tourette syndrome and the developmental trajectory of temporal discounting. MethodsIn the first study we included nineteen adolescent patients with Tourette syndrome and nineteen age- and education matched controls. In the second study, we compared twenty-five adult patients with Tourette syndrome and twenty-five age- and education-matched controls. ResultsIn the light of the dopaminergic hyperactivity model, we predicted differences in temporal discounting in patients with Tourette syndrome. However, computational modeling of choice behavior using hierarchical Bayesian parameter estimation revealed reduced impulsive choice in adolescent patients, and no group differences in adults. ConclusionWe speculate that adolescents might show reduced discounting due to improved inhibitory functions that also affect choice impulsivity and/or the developmental trajectory of executive control functions. The absence of an effect in adults might be due to differences in the clinical population (e.g. patients who acquired successful tic inhibition during adolescence might have gone into remission). Future studies would benefit from adopting longitudinal approaches to further elucidate the developmental trajectory of these effects.

neuroscience↗