2024/05/01 by Emily R. Thomas, Joost Haarsma, Jessica Nicholson +3 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Computer Science · Neuroscience · #Anomaly Detection Techniques and Applications #EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces #Neural dynamics and brain function
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.036
openalex publication_date 2024/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Popular accounts of mind and brain propose that the brain continuously forms predictions about future sensory inputs and combines predictions with inputs to determine what we perceive. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 Under "predictive processing" schemes, such integration is supported by the hierarchical organization of the cortex, whereby feedback connections communicate predictions from higher-level deep layers to agranular (superficial and deep) lower-level layers. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 Predictions are compared with input to compute the "prediction error," which is transmitted up the hierarchy from superficial layers of lower cortical regions to the middle layers of higher areas, to update higher-level predictions until errors are reconciled. 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 In the primary visual cortex (V1), predictions have thereby been proposed to influence representations in deep layers while error signals may be computed in superficial layers. Despite the framework's popularity, there is little evidence for these functional distinctions because, to our knowledge, unexpected sensory events have not previously been presented in human laminar paradigms to contrast against expected events. To this end, this 7T fMRI study contrasted V1 responses to expected (75% likely) and unexpected (25%) Gabor orientations. Multivariate decoding analyses revealed an interaction between expectation and layer, such that expected events could be decoded with comparable accuracy across layers, while unexpected events could only be decoded in superficial laminae. Although these results are in line with these accounts that have been popular for decades, such distinctions have not previously been demonstrated in humans. We discuss how both prediction and error processes may operate together to shape our unitary perceptual experiences.