Intracranial electroencephalography reveals effector-independent evidence accumulation dynamics in multiple human brain regions

Abstract

Abstract Neural representations of perceptual decision formation that are abstracted from specific motor requirements have previously been identified in humans using non-invasive electrophysiology, however, it is currently unclear where these originate in the brain. Here, we capitalized on the high spatiotemporal precision of intracranial EEG to localize such abstract decision signals. Presurgical epilepsy patients judged the direction of random-dot stimuli and responded either with a speeded button press (N=23), or vocally, after a randomized delay (N=11). We found a widely distributed motor-independent network of regions where high-frequency activity exhibited key characteristics consistent with evidence accumulation, including a gradual build-up that was modulated by the strength of the sensory evidence, and an amplitude that predicted subjects’ choice accuracy and response time. Our findings offer a new view on the brain networks governing human decision making.