Closed-loop readout of anterior insula high-gamma activity steers value-based decisions

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Abstract The decision-making field has long attempted to understand the origins of human choice variability. A potential source of variability lies in the ongoing fluctuations of brain oscillations, which might influence behavior across several cognitive domains. Here, we developed a closed-loop intracranial brain-computer interface that detects transient fluctuations of broadband gamma activity (BGA, 70–150 Hz) to trigger stimulus presentations contingent on high or low neural states. Using this approach, we examined how spontaneous activity in the anterior insula influences accept/reject decisions involving multi-attribute offers combining pleasant and unpleasant components. Offers preceded by high pre-offer BGA in the anterior insula were associated with a transient post-offer suppression in aIns activity, which biased decisions toward accepting an unpleasant item in exchange for a pleasant one in hypothetical multi-attribute choices. These findings demonstrate that sub-second endogenous neural fluctuations directly modulate choice behavior, challenging current neuro-computational models by emphasizing the critical role of intrinsic brain states in decision variability.
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Closed-loop readout of anterior insula high-gamma activity steers value-based decisions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Closed-loop readout of anterior insula high-gamma activity steers value-based decisions Julien Bastin, Clarissa BARATIN, Mathias Pessiglione, Philippe Kahane, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8201908/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The decision-making field has long attempted to understand the origins of human choice variability. A potential source of variability lies in the ongoing fluctuations of brain oscillations, which might influence behavior across several cognitive domains. Here, we developed a closed-loop intracranial brain-computer interface that detects transient fluctuations of broadband gamma activity (BGA, 70–150 Hz) to trigger stimulus presentations contingent on high or low neural states. Using this approach, we examined how spontaneous activity in the anterior insula influences accept/reject decisions involving multi-attribute offers combining pleasant and unpleasant components. Offers preceded by high pre-offer BGA in the anterior insula were associated with a transient post-offer suppression in aIns activity, which biased decisions toward accepting an unpleasant item in exchange for a pleasant one in hypothetical multi-attribute choices. These findings demonstrate that sub-second endogenous neural fluctuations directly modulate choice behavior, challenging current neuro-computational models by emphasizing the critical role of intrinsic brain states in decision variability. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Decision Biological sciences/Psychology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8201908","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":550833981,"identity":"f6304e8e-119b-4087-bd84-3ff746196437","order_by":0,"name":"Julien Bastin","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0533-7564","institution":"Univ. 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