Idiosyncratic choice bias naturally emerges from intrinsic stochasticity in neuronal dynamics

1. Nat Hum Behav. 2019 Nov;3(11):1190-1202. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0682-7. Epub
2019 Sep 2.

Idiosyncratic choice bias naturally emerges from intrinsic stochasticity in
neuronal dynamics.

Lebovich L(1), Darshan R(2)(3), Lavi Y(4)(5), Hansel D(6), Loewenstein
Y(2)(4)(7).

Author information:
(1)The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel. .
(2)The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel.
(3)Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA.
(4)The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel.
(5)Code Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
(6)Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Learning and Memory Lab;
CNRS-UMR8002, 45 Rue des Saints Pères, Paris, France.
(7)Department of Cognitive Sciences and The Federmann Center for the Study of
Rationality, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Erratum in
Nat Hum Behav. 2019 Dec;3(12):1345. doi: 10.1038/s41562-019-0784-2.

Idiosyncratic tendency to choose one alternative over others in the absence of
an identified reason is a common observation in two-alternative forced-choice
experiments. Here we quantify idiosyncratic choice biases in a perceptual
discrimination task and a motor task. We report substantial and significant
biases in both cases that cannot be accounted for by the experimental context.
Then, we present theoretical evidence that even in an idealized experiment, in
which the settings are symmetric, idiosyncratic choice bias is expected to
emerge from the dynamics of competing neuronal networks. We thus argue that
idiosyncratic choice bias reflects the microscopic dynamics of choice and
therefore is virtually inevitable in any comparison or decision task.

DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0682-7
PMID: 31477911 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus