Beta-band frequency shifts signal decisions in human prefrontal cortex

Beta-band synchronization has been found to be content-specific, particularly during decision-making. Recently, we showed a beta-band frequency shift in macaque prefrontal cortex to reflect categorical decision outcomes in a temporal categorization task. Here, we sought to replicate these findings in human participants, and additionally asked whether these beta frequency shift dynamics generalize to other task contexts and modalities. Across three EEG and MEG (magnetoencephalography) experiments (<i>n</i> = 82; 42 female and 40 male) that required participants to make a perceptual decision, we found that a beta-band frequency shift in the prefrontal cortex signaled the decision outcome. This finding was consistent across a temporal categorization task, a delayed match-to-sample task, and a cross-modal discrimination task. We conclude that this signal is a robust marker of perceptual decisions.

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Publication Details

Journal
iScience
Published
2025-10-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113806
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Neural dynamics and brain function
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.43

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Beta-band frequency shifts signal decisions in human prefrontal cortex

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article

Beta-band frequency shifts signal decisions in human prefrontal cortex

Elie Rassi, Julio Rodriguez‐Larios, Hugo Merchant, Alma ElShafei, Saskia Haegens, Camille Gret
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Beta-band synchronization has been found to be content-specific, particularly during decision-making. Recently, we showed a beta-band frequency shift in macaque prefrontal cortex to reflect categorical decision outcomes in a temporal categorization task. Here, we sought to replicate these findings in human participants, and additionally asked whether these beta frequency shift dynamics generalize to other task contexts and modalities. Across three EEG and MEG (magnetoencephalography) experiments (<i>n</i> = 82; 42 female and 40 male) that required participants to make a perceptual decision, we found that a beta-band frequency shift in the prefrontal cortex signaled the decision outcome. This finding was consistent across a temporal categorization task, a delayed match-to-sample task, and a cross-modal discrimination task. We conclude that this signal is a robust marker of perceptual decisions.

iScienceVol. 28(11)
University of London (GB), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), University of Salzburg (AT), New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (US), New York State Psychiatric Institute, Brunel University of London (GB), Columbia University (US)
National Science Foundation, Austrian Science Fund, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, National Institutes of Health, Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Neural dynamics and brain function
1.43
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