Neurobiologists of the California Institute of Technology found that changes in pupil diameter correspond to the moment when a simple decision is made.
Pupil Dilation Marks Decision Making
Neurobiologist Christof Koch of the California Institute of Technology and his colleagues, have found that changes in pupil diameter correspond to the moment when a simple decision is made. He discovered the phenomenon in volunteers viewing ambiguous stimuli. These stimuli, or percepts, consist of images or sounds that can be correctly interpreted in either of two forms, such as the famous optical illusion of a young girl wearing a feathered hat. The image morphs into a picture of an old crone.
"The pupil is not only there to regulate light, but is linked to our emotional state. This may have evolved for us to monitor the emotional state of others, and may offer a very simple way to track decision-making in general," says Koch.
The paper, "Pupil dilation reflects perceptual selection and predicts subsequent stability in perceptual rivalry," was published in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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clipped from mr.caltech.edu
