The integrated control of decision and movement vigor.

Abstract

Decision-making and motor control are closely interdependent processes. It has been proposed that the vigor of decisions and the vigor of movements are jointly controlled to optimize behavior utility. However, recent studies indicate that decision and movement vigor are co-regulated by default, whether or not this benefits behavior utility, and that they can be decoupled if utility is compromised. We propose that the co-regulation of decision and movement vigor occurs through modulation of the signal-to-noise ratio in sensorimotor areas of the brain, while the decoupling of decision from movement vigor is enabled by inhibitory control involving frontal areas and the basal ganglia. This theory offers a unified explanation for the neural basis of flexible coordination of decision and movement vigor during goal-oriented actions.