Objective
A central question in the behavioural, cognitive and neural sciences is how humans choose between available alternatives (Does this patient have flu, or meningitis? Should I go on holiday to Spain, or Scotland?). However, much less attention has been devoted to the question of when an agent should decide. Longer deliberation is more likely to lead to better decisions (because it allows greater accumulation of decision-relevant evidence) but it also incurs a cost (because it delays reinforcement, and increases the chance that deadlines will be missed). Humans adjust their decision strategy to match the urgency with which a decision should be made, but how they do so is unknown. In the proposed research, we ask how humans compute the urgency associated with simple perceptual categorisation judgments, and use functional brain imaging to identify neural circuits involved in these computations. Our approach to this question is grounded in formal mathematical models of the decision process, allowing us to compare human performance to that of an ideal observer that computes decision urgency in order to maximise economic outcome. Using tools from experimental psychology, we measure the sensitivity of healthy individuals to quantities that are relevant for computing decision urgency. We will then use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) to ask where they are encoded in the human brain. Subsequently, we turn our attention to individuals who are prone to make impulsive decisions, using individual difference and pharmacological manipulations. We ask which decision-relevant information is computed inappropriately in impulsivity, and use fMRI and MEG to ask which brain regions may be responsible for atypical computations. This new ‘computational neuropsychiatry’ approach will allow us to move towards a neural and computational account decision-making deficits in disorders such as addiction and ADHD.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences psychology
- engineering and technology medical engineering diagnostic imaging magnetic resonance imaging
- natural sciences mathematics applied mathematics mathematical model
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-StG_20101109
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.