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So overall the diffusion model is one of
the most popular models in neuroeconomics.
Interestingly that some biologists suggest
that for example collective
insights use the same approach as a
diffusion model.
To make collective decisions.
For example, in honeybees.
They make very important collective
decisions, that,
perhaps, are based on the diffusion
mechanism.
So, as you know, honeybees are very
collective insects.
They live in large colonies.
Perhaps you know that they can communicate
to each other.
And they can actually communicate there
direction
and the distance to the resource of food.
So, within the dance they actually
communicate this two important parameters.
As you see here, this bee, can actually
transmit this information to other bees.
So they use dances to communicate quite
complex information.
Once upon a time, bees, honey bees, make
most important decision of their life.
Actually, time to time, colonies splitted
and hive produces a swarm.
This new colony normally makes a stop near
by on a tree
and this young colony makes the most
important decision in the life of bees.
They actually decide where to establish
the
new hive, where to create the new home.
If they will select the bad place, the
colony will die during the cold winter.
So this is a most important decision in
the life of the colony.
And how this decision is achieved?
So actually, there are a specialized bees
called scouts.
They search environment for the new homes.
So they search environment to find new
places to establish the colonies.
They come back to the swarm and they start
to dance.
In this dance, they encode.
The direction to the new home and the
quality of the home.
So the scouts tried to engage each other
and tried to advertise certain direction.
So, at certain point of time, you
can see different scouts dancing,
advertising different direction.
But at some point all scouts will
advertise only
one direction and colony will move in this
direction.
So here you see the actual study,
the actual results, investigating this
group decision process.
Each color indicates the dance for a
certain direction.
The size of the line indicates the number
of scouts dancing for a certain direction.
So you see for example that at eleven
o'clock, eight scouts dancing for the east
direction.
And there are other scouts dancing
advertising other direction.
So for example you also see that at
one o'clock, 11 scouts advertise a south
direction.
But next morning, you also see 14 scouts
advertising southwest direction.
And, the number of the scouts is growing
and next
morning you see that all scouts are
advertising the same direction.
At the same moment, the colony moves to
the new place.
Actually entomologists find a striking
similarity between the group
decision of bees and the diffusion process
in our brains.
So in the same way, as our neurons, for
example,
in the area MT, accumulate sensory
evidence for the decision.
And this evidence is integrated in the
neurons of the area, LIP.
In the case of the group decision of honey
bees, those scouts
detect information about the potential
places for the new home of the colony.
They bring this information to the colony,
they dance, and colony accumulates this
information.
Actually the accumulation process is
indicated by the number of
dancers, by the number of scouts
advertising the same direction.
So we see a similarity with our perception
decisions.
In the diffusion process first.
The sensory information is detected by the
neurons in the area MT.
Next this information is integrated by the
neurons in the area LIP
and these integrators affect each other
and inhibit ultransitive decisions.
And finally when activity of the neurons
in the area LIP reaches a threshold.
The decision is finalized.
In the same way, we can explain the group
decision of the honeybees.
So there's a limited number of scouts and
they advertise and dance for the limited
time.
So, by intensive dances, they engage each
other
to study, investigate, to visit the new
sites.
The scouts go to this site, advertise by
other scouts,
come back and engage other scouts to visit
the sites.
So, the scouts affect each other and at
the end
all scouts are engaged into the dance for
the same direction.
So actually the group decision of this
young
colony can be modeled as a diffusion
process.
So scouts accumulate information for let's
say site A and B and when
there's a critical amount of evidence that
site A is better than site B.
When there is a quarrel, the colony moves
to the side.
So there is very interesting similarity
between the group
decisions of social insects and decisions
produced by our neurons.
So if you would be very interested in this
topic,
I recommend, I strongly recommend to read
very interesting books.
On Honeybee Democracy, on group decisions
on social instances.
But for now, it would be enough to
take this whole message that our nervous
system.
Perhaps calculate decisions based on the
[UNKNOWN] mechanism.
In the case of the perceptual decisions,
first, the sensory evidences for the
alternative are detected by motion
detectors in the brain area, MT.
Next, this information is integrated in
the brain area, LIP.
So these integrators accumulate
information
over time integrating information over
time.
And when the activity of the neurons reach
a threshold the decision is finalized.
At the same time these neurons inhibit
[UNKNOWN] decisions.
So we can split this process in a few
stages.
So first, the information about the
evidence is
for alternatives is detected in the
sensory area MT.
Next this information is accumulated in
the area LIP.
And finally this information goes to the
motor area that triggers the motor
response.
So the decision making neurons in the area
LIP
have to reach a certain threshold to
finalize a decision.
And to activate the motor neurons that
actually produce the behavior.
So we applied this model to the perception
decisions.
But this model can be used to explain
various decisions.
And your neuroeconomics uses this models
quite
often to explain very complex decision
making processes.
So, this diffusion model is a relatively
simple aid to
your suggesting that our neurons are
comparing evidences for alternatives.
They encode this difference as a firing
grade.
And if the firing grade of this decision
making neurons exceeds this threshold the
decision is finalize.
So as we will see during the course, the
nervous system
actually performs this diffusion model
like
calculation during the decision making
process.
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