Making adaptive choices in dynamic environments requires flexible decision policies. Previously, we showed how shifts in outcome contingency change the evidence accumulation process that determines decision policies (1). Using in silico experiments to generate predictions, here we show how the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic (CBGT) circuits can feasibly implement shifts in decision policies. When action contingencies change, dopaminergic plasticity redirects the balance of power, both within and between action representations, to divert the flow of evidence from one option to another. When competition between action representations is highest, the rate of evidence accumulation is lowest. This prediction was validated in in vivo experiments on human participants, using fMRI, which showed that 1) evoked hemodynamic responses can reliably predict trialwise choices and 2) competition between action representations, measured using a classifier model, tracked with changes in the rate of evidence accumulation. These results paint a holistic picture of how CBGT circuits manage and adapt the evidence accumulation process in mammals.
TLDR: Interactions between cortical and subcortical circuits in the mammalian brain flexibly control the flow of information streams that drive decisions by shifting the balance of power both within and between action representations.
See our OpenNeuro respository for raw and preprocessed hemodynamic and physiological data.
See the preprint here.