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The neural dynamics associated with computational complexity

View ORCID ProfileJuan Pablo Franco, Peter Bossaerts, View ORCID ProfileCarsten Murawski
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.05.475102
Juan Pablo Franco
1Brain, Mind & Markets Laboratory, Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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  • ORCID record for Juan Pablo Franco
Peter Bossaerts
1Brain, Mind & Markets Laboratory, Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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  • For correspondence: peter.bossaerts@unimelb.edu.au carstenm@unimelb.edu.au
Carsten Murawski
1Brain, Mind & Markets Laboratory, Department of Finance, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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  • ORCID record for Carsten Murawski
  • For correspondence: peter.bossaerts@unimelb.edu.au carstenm@unimelb.edu.au
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Abstract

Many everyday tasks require people to solve computationally complex problems. However, little is known about the effects of computational hardness on the neural processes associated with solving such problems. Here, we draw on computational complexity theory to address this issue. We performed an experiment in which participants solved several instances of the 0-1 knapsack problem, a combinatorial optimization problem, while undergoing ultra-high field (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Instances varied in two task-independent measures of intrinsic computational hardness: complexity and proof hardness. We characterise a network of brain regions whose activation was correlated with both measures but in distinct ways, including the anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and the intra-parietal sulcus/angular gyrus. Activation and connectivity changed dynamically as a function of complexity and proof hardness, in line with theoretical computational requirements. Overall, our results suggest that computational complexity theory provides a suitable framework to study the effects of computational hardness on the neural processes associated with solving complex cognitive tasks.

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 January 05, 2022.
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The neural dynamics associated with computational complexity
Juan Pablo Franco, Peter Bossaerts, Carsten Murawski
bioRxiv 2022.01.05.475102; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.05.475102
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The neural dynamics associated with computational complexity
Juan Pablo Franco, Peter Bossaerts, Carsten Murawski
bioRxiv 2022.01.05.475102; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.05.475102

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