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Transient photocurrents in a subthreshold evidence accumulator accelerate perceptual decisions

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  • Timothy L. H. Wong

    (University of Oxford)

  • Clifford B. Talbot

    (University of Oxford)

  • Gero Miesenböck

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

Perceptual decisions are complete when a continuously updated score of sensory evidence reaches a threshold. In Drosophila, αβ core Kenyon cells (αβc KCs) of the mushroom bodies integrate odor-evoked synaptic inputs to spike threshold at rates that parallel the speed of olfactory choices. Here we perform a causal test of the idea that the biophysical process of synaptic integration underlies the psychophysical process of bounded evidence accumulation in this system. Injections of single brief, EPSP-like depolarizations into the dendrites of αβc KCs during odor discrimination, using closed-loop control of a targeted opsin, accelerate decision times at a marginal cost of accuracy. Model comparisons favor a mechanism of temporal integration over extrema detection and suggest that the optogenetically evoked quanta are added to a growing total of sensory evidence, effectively lowering the decision bound. The subthreshold voltage dynamics of αβc KCs thus form an accumulator memory for sequential samples of information.

Suggested Citation

  • Timothy L. H. Wong & Clifford B. Talbot & Gero Miesenböck, 2023. "Transient photocurrents in a subthreshold evidence accumulator accelerate perceptual decisions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-38487-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38487-5
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