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Published February 21, 2012 | Published + Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Cortical topography of intracortical inhibition influences the speed of decision making

Abstract

The neocortex contains orderly topographic maps; however, their functional role remains controversial. Theoretical studies have suggested a role in minimizing computational costs, whereas empirical studies have focused on spatial localization. Using a tactile multiple-choice reaction time (RT) task before and after the induction of perceptual learning through repetitive sensory stimulation, we extend the framework of cortical topographies by demonstrating that the topographic arrangement of intracortical inhibition contributes to the speed of human perceptual decision-making processes. RTs differ among fingers, displaying an inverted U-shaped function. Simulations using neural fields show the inverted U-shaped RT distribution as an emergent consequence of lateral inhibition. Weakening inhibition through learning shortens RTs, which is modeled through topographically reorganized inhibition. Whereas changes in decision making are often regarded as an outcome of higher cortical areas, our data show that the spatial layout of interaction processes within representational maps contributes to selection and decision-making processes.

Additional Information

© 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. Freely available online through the PNAS open access option. Edited by Terrence J. Sejnowski, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, and approved January 10, 2012 (received for review August 30, 2011). We thank Richard Andersen, Christof Koch, and several attendees of the Cosyne Conference 2008 in Salt Lake City for helpful comments, and Tobias Kalisch for participation in some of the experiments. We acknowledge support from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (German National Merit Foundation) and The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (to C.W.), the International Graduate School of Neuroscience at the Ruhr-University Bochum (to P.R.), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Di 334/10) and the Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung, BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) Bernstein Focus "State Dependencies of Learning" (to H.R.D.). Author contributions: C.W., P.R., and H.R.D. designed research, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the paper. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Published - Wilimzig2012p17377P_Natl_Acad_Sci_Usa.pdf

Supplemental Material - pnas.201114250SI.pdf

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