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Electrophysiological correlates of confidence differ across correct and erroneous perceptual decisions

Daniel Feuerriegel, Mackenzie Murphy, Alexandra Konski, Vinay Mepani, Jie Sun, Robert Hester, Stefan Bode
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.22.469610
Daniel Feuerriegel
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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  • For correspondence: dfeuerriegel@unimelb.edu.au
Mackenzie Murphy
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Alexandra Konski
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Vinay Mepani
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Jie Sun
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Robert Hester
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Stefan Bode
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Abstract

Every decision we make is accompanied by an estimate of the likelihood that our decision is accurate or appropriate. This likelihood estimate is termed our degree of decision confidence. Recent work has uncovered event-related potential (ERP) correlates of confidence both during decision formation and after a decision has been made. However, the interpretation of these findings is complicated by methodological issues related to ERP amplitude measurement that are prevalent across existing studies. To more accurately characterise the neural correlates of confidence, we presented participants with a difficult perceptual decision task that elicited a broad range of confidence ratings. We identified a frontal ERP component within an onset prior to the behavioural response, which exhibited more positive-going amplitudes in trials with higher confidence ratings. This frontal effect also biased measures of the centro-parietal positivity (CPP) component at parietal electrodes via volume conduction. Amplitudes of the error positivity (Pe) component that followed each decision were negatively associated with confidence for trials with decision errors, but not for trials with correct decisions. We provide evidence for both pre- and post-decisional neural correlates of decision confidence that are observed in trials with correct and erroneous decisions, respectively. Our findings suggest that certainty in having made a correct response is associated with frontal activity during decision formation, whereas certainty in having committed an error is instead associated with the post-decisional Pe component. We additionally show that some previously reported associations between decision confidence and CPP/Pe component amplitudes are (at least partly) a consequence of ERP amplitude measurement-related confounds.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted November 22, 2021.
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Electrophysiological correlates of confidence differ across correct and erroneous perceptual decisions
Daniel Feuerriegel, Mackenzie Murphy, Alexandra Konski, Vinay Mepani, Jie Sun, Robert Hester, Stefan Bode
bioRxiv 2021.11.22.469610; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.22.469610
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Electrophysiological correlates of confidence differ across correct and erroneous perceptual decisions
Daniel Feuerriegel, Mackenzie Murphy, Alexandra Konski, Vinay Mepani, Jie Sun, Robert Hester, Stefan Bode
bioRxiv 2021.11.22.469610; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.22.469610

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