Fronto-parietal Cortical Circuits Encode Accumulated Evidence with a Diversity of Timescales. Author Benjamin Scott, Christine Constantinople, Athena Akrami, Timothy Hanks, Carlos Brody, David Tank Publication Year 2017 Type Journal Article Abstract Decision-making in dynamic environments often involves accumulation of evidence, in which new information is used to update beliefs and select future actions. Using in vivo cellular resolution imaging in voluntarily head-restrained rats, we examined the responses of neurons in frontal and parietal cortices during a pulse-based accumulation of evidence task. Neurons exhibited activity that predicted the animal's upcoming choice, previous choice, and graded responses that reflected the strength of the accumulated evidence. The pulsatile nature of the stimuli enabled characterization of the responses of neurons to a single quantum (pulse) of evidence. Across the population, individual neurons displayed extensive heterogeneity in the dynamics of responses to pulses. The diversity of responses was sufficiently rich to form a temporal basis for accumulated evidence estimated from a latent variable model. These results suggest that heterogeneous, often transient sensory responses distributed across the fronto-parietal cortex may support working memory on behavioral timescales. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Keywords Animals, Time Factors, Decision Making, Action Potentials, Behavior, Animal, Memory, Short-Term, Rats, Choice Behavior, Parietal Lobe, Neurons, Frontal Lobe Journal Neuron Volume 95 Issue 2 Pages 385-398.e5 Date Published 2017 Jul 19 ISSN Number 1097-4199 DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.06.013 Alternate Journal Neuron PMCID PMC9453285 PMID 28669543 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML