Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
6267251 Current Opinion in Neurobiology 2012 10 Pages PDF
Abstract

How does the brain decide between actions? Is it through comparisons of abstract representations of outcomes or through a competition in a sensorimotor map defining the actions themselves? Here, I review strengths and limitations of both of these proposals, and suggest that decisions emerge through a distributed consensus across many levels of representation.

► This article compares alternative models for how the brain may decide between actions. ► Classical models suggest that all decisions are made through comparison of abstract representations of value. ► Natural behavior demands that decisions between actions take sensorimotor contingencies into account. ► Neural evidence is compatible with a model in which decisions emerge as a distributed consensus across multiple levels of representation.

Related Topics
Life Sciences Neuroscience Neuroscience (General)
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