Elsevier

Neural Networks

Volume 15, Issues 4–6, June–July 2002, Pages 635-645
Neural Networks

2002 Special issue
Neuromodulation of decision and response selection

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-6080(02)00054-0Get rights and content

Abstract

We present a model for the attentional neuromodulation of decision and selection processes. The model assumes that phasic responses in the brain nucleus Locus Coeruleus modulate, via the transmission of norepinephrine, the synaptic efficiency of neural circuits, at specific (stimulus and task dependent) time intervals. The model is applied first, to a task of perceptual choice, simulating attentional fluctuations and accounting for a series of behavioral and neurophysiological data. Second, the flexibility of information processing, whereby the parameters of the local circuits are modified online, is illustrated in the application of the model to a task of selection from short-term memory.

Introduction

Neuromodulators such as norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine are often assumed to mediate the attentional control of cognitive processing (Arnsten, 1998, Cohen and Servan-Schreiber, 1992). In a previous article (Usher, Cohen, Servan-Schreiber, Rajkowski, & Aston-Jones, 1999) we have presented neurophysiological and behavioral data (see also Aston-Jones, Rajkowski, Kubiak, & Alexinsky (1994)) showing that changes in NE responses of the brain nucleus Locus Coeruleus (LC) correlate with behavioral responses in awake monkey and we presented a neurocomputational model addressing the attentional mechanism of NE neuromodulation. In this paper, we extend and develop this computational model for NE neuromodulation to a wider domain of cognitive tasks that require decision and response selection. The first domain corresponds to perceptual choice situations, being a direct extension of the LC model presented in Usher et al. (1999). To do this we review data on attentional phases of LC responses in the LC, and show how a simplified model for LC response, functionally similar with the one derived by Gilzenrat, Holmes, Rajkowski, Aston-Jones, and Cohen (2002), can account for a variety of behavioral findings and leads to novel predictions. The second domain corresponds to a more complex cognitive process that involves memory maintenance followed by a probe-triggered response selection.

Section snippets

Attentional control and LC responses in perceptual choice

Previous behavioral studies of LC neuromodulation involved a simple go–nogo task (Aston-Jones et al., 1994). In this task monkeys are presented with a long sequence of stimuli, one type of which is designated as a ‘target’ that requires a lever-release, while all the other types are designated as ‘nontargets’ (or distractors) requiring to withhold responses. Typically, the target has a low frequency and the monkey needs to maintain vigilance in order to respond as fast as possible to targets

Model

The functional LC model described in this section is embedded in a behavioral model for perceptual choice and for selection from memory. Since the same LC model is used in both of these tasks, we first describe its mechanism and its attentional modes that are designed to account for the neurophysiological data in the LC described earlier.

The functional model for the LC is not attempted to be neurophysiologically realistic but only to provide an equivalent functional behavior to that found in

Behavioral model for the perceptual task

In this section, the model is applied to a straightforward extension of the go/nogo task described earlier—a forced choice between two response alternatives, both targets that require a response and which need to be distinguished from distractors that require the withholding of response (e.g. ‘respond to digits: 1 vs. 2 with the corresponding button and ignore letters’). The computational model used to address this task is shown in Fig. 3. It includes an input layer, a layer of perceptual

Response selection and memory maintenance

The cognitive task described earlier can be fully characterized as a choice of one out of many alternatives. In a recent work (Usher & McClelland, 2001) we have proposed that lateral inhibition between competing representations is a powerful mechanism suited to perform this type of winner-take-all selection. There are other cognitive tasks, however, where a winner-take-all selection is not advantageous. A simple example for such situations is a short-term memory (STM) test, where participants

General discussion

Attentional modulation of LC responses can be considered at two levels, a molar/descriptive level and a micro/mechanistic level. At the molar level, the LC modulation has been described by a gain hypothesis (Cohen & Servan-Schreiber, 1992). Accordingly, NE enhances or reduces the cortical responsivity in the high and low range, respectively. The aspect of neuromodulation explored in this paper is the dynamical modification of network parameters and input efficiency, which when triggered by

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Jonathan D. Cohen and Gary Aston-Jones for insightful discussions on LC, NE and neuromodulation. EJD is a recipient of a departmental PhD studentship from the Birkbeck College.

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