Figure 5.

Schematic of network architectures proposed to explain flexible perceptual decision-making. (a) A prevalent theory is that the prefrontal cortex or a frontoparietal network operates as a central hub that gates relevant sensory information and generates appropriate motor plans. Its internal circuits flexibly adjust computations applied to sensory inputs, sending final decisions to appropriate motor regions for execution. (b) A distributed architecture consistent with recent experimental findings. There are no distinct central controls, but multiple brain regions have the capacity to maintain task contexts and flexibly modulate behavior. Dynamics of activity in these brain regions flexibly form decisions. There are gradients within the network such that regions deeper in the sensorimotor hierarchy play more prominent roles in creating flexible behavior.