Multi-area Decision Dynamics Across Human Cortex Shape Confidence

Theories of the neural basis of decision-making postulate a competition between choice-selective populations of neurons that are distributed across many brain areas. We hypothesized that agents’ sense of confidence in a choice is shaped by the consensus among these distributed decision signals. To test this idea, we simultaneously tracked the dynamics of choice-selective signals within each of many cortical areas via magnetoencephalography, while human participants formed difficult decisions. Signals within premotor cortex that supported the choice option selected on a given trial, or the alternative, exhibited a signature of intra-cortical competition. Both competing neural signals made opposing and unique contributions to confidence. Critically, the number and strength of choice-selective signals in associative cortical areas supporting the selected option on each trial made an additional contribution to confidence. We conclude that confidence emerges from cortex-wide, competitive dynamics, through a mechanism that monitors the consensus across many local decision modules.