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A neuroeconomics approach to inferring utility functions in sensorimotor control

Kording, KP; Fukunaga, I; Howard, IS; Ingram, JN; Wolpert, DM; (2004) A neuroeconomics approach to inferring utility functions in sensorimotor control. PLoS Biology , 2 (10) , Article e330. 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020330. Green open access

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Abstract

Making choices is a fundamental aspect of human life. For over a century experimental economists have characterized the decisions people make based on the concept of a utility function. This function increases with increasing desirability of the outcome, and people are assumed to make decisions so as to maximize utility. When utility depends on several variables, indifference curves arise that represent outcomes with identical utility that are therefore equally desirable. Whereas in economics utility is studied in terms of goods and services, the sensorimotor system may also have utility functions defining the desirability of various outcomes. Here, we investigate the indifference curves when subjects experience forces of varying magnitude and duration. Using a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, in which subjects chose between different magnitude–duration profiles, we inferred the indifference curves and the utility function. Such a utility function defines, for example, whether subjects prefer to lift a 4-kg weight for 30 s or a 1-kg weight for a minute. The measured utility function depends nonlinearly on the force magnitude and duration and was remarkably conserved across subjects. This suggests that the utility function, a central concept in economics, may be applicable to the study of sensorimotor control.

Type: Article
Title: A neuroeconomics approach to inferring utility functions in sensorimotor control
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020330
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020330
Language: English
Additional information: © 2004 Körding et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: 2005/06, article, checked, Dept-Sobell, Div-Neurophysiology, MyOPIA-toadd, November, PubMed
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/187392
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