Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures
Abstract Human behavior is strongly influenced by anticipation, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We obtained intracranial electrocephalography (iEEG) measurements in neurosurgical patients as they performed a simple sensory-motor task with variable (short or long) foreperi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07516-y |
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| author | Ashwin G. Ramayya Vivek Buch Andrew Richardson Timothy Lucas Joshua I. Gold |
| author_facet | Ashwin G. Ramayya Vivek Buch Andrew Richardson Timothy Lucas Joshua I. Gold |
| author_sort | Ashwin G. Ramayya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Human behavior is strongly influenced by anticipation, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We obtained intracranial electrocephalography (iEEG) measurements in neurosurgical patients as they performed a simple sensory-motor task with variable (short or long) foreperiod delays that affected anticipation of the cue to respond. Participants showed two forms of anticipatory response biases, distinguished by more premature false alarms (FAs) or faster response times (RTs) on long-delay trials. These biases had distinct neural signatures in prestimulus neural activity modulations that were distributed and intermixed across the brain: the FA bias was most evident in preparatory motor activity immediately prior to response-cue presentation, whereas the RT bias was most evident in visuospatial activity at the beginning of the foreperiod. These results suggest that human anticipatory behavior emerges from a combination of motor-preparatory and attention-like modulations of neural activity, implemented by anatomically widespread and intermixed, but functionally identifiable, brain networks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9370f8a7834c4aaf81793fdc9c286093 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9370f8a7834c4aaf81793fdc9c2860932025-01-26T12:48:04ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-01-018111210.1038/s42003-025-07516-yHuman response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signaturesAshwin G. Ramayya0Vivek Buch1Andrew Richardson2Timothy Lucas3Joshua I. Gold4Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Hospital of University of PennsylvaniaNeuroTech InstituteDepartment of Neuroscience, University of PennsylvaniaAbstract Human behavior is strongly influenced by anticipation, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We obtained intracranial electrocephalography (iEEG) measurements in neurosurgical patients as they performed a simple sensory-motor task with variable (short or long) foreperiod delays that affected anticipation of the cue to respond. Participants showed two forms of anticipatory response biases, distinguished by more premature false alarms (FAs) or faster response times (RTs) on long-delay trials. These biases had distinct neural signatures in prestimulus neural activity modulations that were distributed and intermixed across the brain: the FA bias was most evident in preparatory motor activity immediately prior to response-cue presentation, whereas the RT bias was most evident in visuospatial activity at the beginning of the foreperiod. These results suggest that human anticipatory behavior emerges from a combination of motor-preparatory and attention-like modulations of neural activity, implemented by anatomically widespread and intermixed, but functionally identifiable, brain networks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07516-y |
| spellingShingle | Ashwin G. Ramayya Vivek Buch Andrew Richardson Timothy Lucas Joshua I. Gold Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures Communications Biology |
| title | Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| title_full | Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| title_fullStr | Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| title_short | Human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| title_sort | human response times are governed by dual anticipatory processes with distinct neural signatures |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07516-y |
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