Metacognitive regulation of cognitive control to adjust choice accuracy in rhesus macaques

Abstract

Making the best choice in one situation is critical, but it relies on limited cognitive capacities. Numerous animal species adjust the amount of cognitive resources allocated to a decision using a trade-off between speed and accuracy, where decision time corresponds to an investment of cognitive control, which scales with the expected increase in reward. In humans, recent studies indicate that control allocation is regulated not only based upon its potential benefits, but also upon its potential cost, through a metacognitive monitoring process. Is it the case in other primates? We addressed this issue in rhesus monkeys with a detailed analysis of the relation among choice accuracy, choice difficulty and response time in a two-choice task. In contrast to typical demonstrations of speed-accuracy trade-off, we found higher choice accuracy in trials with faster response time, above and beyond choice difficulty. This relationship can be explained by a model of metacognitive decision monitoring where the cost of cognitive control is traded against confidence benefits. Thus, rhesus monkeys also seem to rely upon supervisory monitoring to modulate the amount of control exerted over their decision efficacy. This might drive future research on the evolution of cognitive and neurophysiological processes underlying decision making.