Task 8

Question 1

How do traditional cognitive theories propose the brain resolves action selection and specification?

Answer 1

In a serial manner, selecting ‘what to do’ before specifying ‘how to do it’​

Question 2

What are the two fundamental pragmatic problems animals face according to the Affordance Competition Hypothesis?

Answer 2

Selection between actions that are currently possible and selection of parameters or metrics of those actions​

Question 3

What does the Affordance Competition Hypothesis propose?

Answer 3

The brain processes sensory information to specify several potential actions in parallel, which then compete for further processing until a single response is selected

Question 4

How does the Affordance Competition Hypothesis view action selection and specification?

Answer 4

These processes occur simultaneously and continue even during overt performance of movements

Question 5

What are the two parallel processing pathways in the visual system?

Answer 5

The occipito-temporal ‘ventral stream’ for identifying objects and the occipito-parietal ‘dorsal stream’ for spatial information​

Question 6

What is the role of the dorsal stream in action specification?

Answer 6

It processes visual information to specify potential actions and does not create a unified representation of space but mediates various visually guided actions​

Question 7

What is the role of selective attention in the Affordance Competition Hypothesis?

Answer 7

It acts as an early mechanism for action selection, reducing the volume of information transformed into action-related representations​

Question 8

How does the fronto-parietal system function in action selection?

Answer 8

It involves competition between potential actions, biased by inputs from basal ganglia and prefrontal cortical regions

Question 9

How does competition between potential actions occur in the fronto-parietal system?

Answer 9

Cells with different movement preferences inhibit each other, with competition influenced by various sources of biasing inputs

Question 10

What is the relationship between parietal activity and decision variables?

Answer 10

Parietal activity correlates with decision variables, such as expected utility, not just motor or sensory variables

Question 11

How does action specification begin and proceed in the visual cortex according to the hypothesis?

Answer 11

1.It begins with the encoding of potential targets in the visual cortex

2.proceeds to the parietal cortex for encoding potential actions

3.and then to premotor regions for action execution

Question 12

What are the neural substrates involved in action specification?

Answer 12

The fronto-parietal cortex and dorsal stream, with neurons representing potential actions using sensory information and modulated by decision variables​

Question 13

How do basal ganglia and prefrontal cortical regions influence action selection?

Answer 13

They provide excitatory input that biases the competition between potential actions in the fronto-parietal system

Question 14

Is complete action planning proposed for every possible action in the Affordance Competition Hypothesis?

Answer 14

No, only currently available actions are specified, and complete planning is not proposed even for the final selected action​

Question 15

What is the role of the ventral stream in action selection?

Answer 15

It provides input to action selection through direct projections from the temporal cortex to the prefrontal cortex, detecting stimulus combinations relevant for selection​

Question 16

How does the Affordance Competition Hypothesis differ from traditional cognitive neuroscience frameworks?

Answer 16

It views brain function as competing sensorimotor loops rather than serial stages of representation and decision-making

Question 17

How is attention viewed according to Krauzlis’ perspective?

Answer 17

Attention is seen as an effect of circuits centered on basal ganglia involved in value-based decision-making, not as a causal agen

Question 18

How do decisions emerge in the neural circuits according to the hypothesis?

Answer 18

Decisions emerge as a distributed consensus within neural circuits that control action execution, with competitive interactions and biasing influences

Question 19

What is essential for good decision-making according to Krauzlis?

Answer 19

Properly estimating the current state of the animal and its environment, using weighted inputs to determine relevant stimuli, actions, and rules

Question 20

What role does the striatum play in attention and decision-making?

Answer 20

The striatum receives converging inputs from many sources and guides reinforcement learning, establishing decision policies that guide behavior

Question 21

How does competition in the basal ganglia contribute to attention?

Answer 21

It involves competing interpretations of the current state, with the best-matching state dominating and dictating the decision policy followed

Question 22

How are shifts of attention explained in Krauzlis’ model?

Answer 22

Shifts correspond to transitions from one dominant state to the next, triggered by unexpected sensory data (bottom-up) or changes in internal state/knowledge (top-down)​

Question 23

What is the significance of the conserved circuit motif for attention?

Answer 23

It suggests that attention mechanisms involving basal ganglia circuits predate the neocortex and are fundamental across vertebrates​

Question 23

What is the role of the SC in spatial attention and orienting movements?

Answer 23

The SC controls spatial attention and orienting movements of the eyes and head, with deficits in these functions when the SC is lesioned​

Question 24

How do SC pathways lead to the basal ganglia?

Answer 24

Through routes such as the medial dorsal nucleus of the thalamus and the perifascicular nucleus, projecting to the striatum and influencing attention tasks​

Question 25

How do artificial systems achieve goal-directed behavior similar to biological systems?

Answer 25

Through a centralized process of state estimation linked to decision rules, similar to the architecture proposed for attention and decision-making in biological systems​

Question 26

What does clinical evidence show about the effects of striatum damage?

Answer 26

Damage to the striatum can cause spatial neglect and deficits in attention, highlighting its role in attention and decision-making​

Question 27

What are the implications of viewing attention as an effect of value-based decision making?

Answer 27

It emphasizes the relationship between attention and learning, suggesting that attention is a learned function based on the value of outcomes​

Question 28

What are the limitations of behavior control through value-based decision-making mechanisms?

Answer 28

Decision policies bias behavior but do not dictate final outcomes, reflecting the autonomy of downstream circuits and the complexity of behavior control​

Question 29

How do attention circuits handle salient events according to Krauzlis’ model?

Answer 29

They provide a mechanism for switching how events are handled, allowing for novel states associated with new goal-directed outcomes​