Distinctive Representation of Mispredicted and Unpredicted Prediction Errors in Human Electroencephalography

The predictive coding model of perception proposes that neuronal responses are modulated by the amount of sensory input that the internal prediction cannot account for (i.e., prediction error). However, there is little consensus on what constitutes nonpredicted stimuli. Conceptually, whereas mispredicted stimuli may induce both prediction error generated by prediction that is not perceived and prediction error generated by sensory input that is not anticipated, unpredicted stimuli involves no top-down, only bottom-up, propagation of information in the system. Here, we examined the possibility that the processing of mispredicted and unpredicted stimuli are dissociable at the neurophysiologic…

Prior Precision Modulates the Minimization of Auditory Prediction Error

International audience; The predictive coding model of perception proposes that successful representation of the perceptual world depends upon canceling out the discrepancy between prediction and sensory input (i.e., prediction error). Recent studies further suggest a distinction to be made between prediction error triggered by non-predicted stimuli of different prior precision (i.e., inverse variance). However, it is not fully understood how prediction error with different precision levels is minimized in the predictive process. Here, we conducted a magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiment which orthogonally manipulated prime-probe relation (for contextual precision) and stimulus repetition…

Temporal expectation and spectral expectation operate in distinct fashion on neuronal populations

The formation of temporal expectation (i.e., the prediction of ‘when’) is of prime importance to sensory processing. It can modulate sensory processing at early processing stages probably via the entrainment of low-frequency neuronal oscillations in the brain. However, sensory predictions involve not only temporal expectation but also spectral expectation (i.e., the prediction of ‘what’). Here we investigated how temporal expectation may interrelate with spectral expectation by explicitly setting up temporal expectation and spectral expectation in a target detection task. We found that temporal expectation and spectral expectation interacted on reaction time (RT). RT was shorter when target…

Prior precision modulates the minimisation of prediction error in human auditory cortex

AbstractThe predictive coding model of perception proposes that successful representation of the perceptual world depends upon cancelling out the discrepancy between prediction and sensory input (i.e., prediction error). Recent studies further suggest a distinction between prediction error associated with non-predicted stimuli of different prior precision (i.e., inverse variance). However, it is not fully understood how prediction error from different precision levels is minimised in the predictive process. The current research used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine whether prior precision modulates the cortical dynamics of the making of perceptual inferences. We presented participant…

The auditory N1 suppression rebounds as prediction persists over time

International audience; The predictive coding model of perception proposes that neuronal responses reflect prediction errors. Repeated as well as predicted stimuli trigger suppressed neuronal responses because they are associated with reduced prediction errors. However, many predictable events in our environment are not isolated but sequential, yet there is little empirical evidence documenting how suppressed neuronal responses reflecting reduced prediction errors change in the course of a predictable sequence of events. Here we conceived an auditory electroencephalography (EEG) experiment where prediction persists over series of four tones to allow for the delineation of the dynamics of th…

Repetition suppression comprises both attention-independent and attention-dependent processes.

International audience; Repetition suppression, a robust phenomenon of reduction in neural responses to stimulus repetition, is suggested to consist of a combination of bottom-up adaptation and top-down prediction effects. However, there is little consensus on how repetition suppression is related to attention in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. It is probably because fMRI integrates neural activity related to adaptation and prediction effects, which are respectively attention-independent and attention-dependent. Here we orthogonally manipulated stimulus repetition and attention in a target detection task while participants' electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. In…

Both attention and prediction are necessary for adaptive neuronal tuning in sensory processing

International audience; The brain as a proactive system processes sensory information under the top-down influence of attention and prediction. However, the relation between attention and prediction remains undetermined given the conflation of these two mechanisms in the literature. To evaluate whether attention and prediction are dependent of each other, and if so, how these two top-down mechanisms may interact in sensory processing, we orthogonally manipulated attention and prediction in a target detection task. Participants were instructed to pay attention to one of two interleaved stimulus streams of predictable/unpredictable tone frequency. We found that attention and prediction intera…

The processing of mispredicted and unpredicted sensory inputs interact differently with attention

International audience; Prediction and attention are fundamental brain functions in the service of perception. Interestingly, previous investigations found prediction effects independent of attention in some cases but attention-dependent in other cases. The discrepancy might be related to whether the prediction effect was revealed by comparing mis-predicted event (where there is incorrect prediction) or unpredicted event (where there is no precise prediction) against predicted event, which are associated with different precision-weighted prediction error. Here we conducted a joint analysis on four published electroencephalography (EEG) datasets which allow for proper dissociation of mispred…

Auditory event-related potentials over medial frontal electrodes express both negative and positive prediction errors

International audience; While the neuronal activation in the medial frontal cortex is thought to reflect higher-order evaluation processes of reward prediction errors when a reward deviates from our expectation, there is increasing evidence that the medial frontal activity might express prediction errors in general. However, given that several studies examined the medial frontal event-related potentials (ERPs) by comparing signals triggered by different stimuli and different anticipations, it remains an open question whether the medial frontal signals are sensitive to the valence of prediction errors. Here we orthogonally manipulated expectation magnitude (i.e., large/small expectation) and…

Human brain ages with hierarchy-selective attenuation of prediction errors

Abstract From the perspective of predictive coding, our brain embodies a hierarchical generative model to realize perception, which proactively predicts the statistical structure of sensory inputs. How are these predictive processes modified as we age? Recent research suggested that aging leads to decreased weighting of sensory inputs and increased reliance on predictions. Here we investigated whether this age-related shift from sensorium to predictions occurs at all levels of hierarchical message passing. We recorded the electroencephalography responses with an auditory local–global paradigm in a cohort of 108 healthy participants from 3 groups: seniors, adults, and adolescents. The detect…

Corrigendum: Both attention and prediction are necessary for adaptive neuronal tuning in sensory processing