Summary:

This review evaluates recent progress in understanding how basic elements of decision formation (deliberation and commitment) are implemented in the brain, focusing on simple decisions that can be studied in the laboratory while emphasizing general principles.

The paper synthesizes findings across neuroscience, integrating research on perceptual decision-making, evidence accumulation models, and neural recording studies.

It is primarily a theoretical synthesis rather than an empirical study with its own methodology.

Quotes:

• Priors: Pre-existing probabilities or expectations
• Evidence: Sensory information bearing on alternatives
• Value: Subjective costs and benefits of outcomes
• Decision Variable (DV): Accumulation of priors, evidence, and value over time
• Decision Rule: How/when the DV triggers commitment to a choice