articleNature CommunicationsMar 3, 2017GOLD OA

Pupil-linked arousal is driven by decision uncertainty and alters serial choice bias

AEAnne E UraiABAnke BraunTHTobias H. Donner

Universität Hamburg · University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf · +2 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

While judging their sensory environments, decision-makers seem to use the uncertainty about their choices to guide adjustments of their subsequent behaviour. One possible source of these behavioural adjustments is arousal: decision uncertainty might drive the brain's arousal systems, which control global brain state and might thereby shape subsequent decision-making. Here, we measure pupil diameter, a proxy for central arousal state, in human observers performing a perceptual choice task of varying difficulty. Pupil dilation, after choice but before external feedback, reflects three hallmark signatures of decision uncertainty derived from a computational model. This increase in pupil-linked arousal boosts…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Arousal
  • Pupillary response
  • Pupil
  • Pupillometry
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Perception
  • Psychology
  • Sensory system
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Peace, Justice and strong institutions
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