A Dual Role for Prediction Error in Associative Learning

By H. D. den Ouden, Karl J. Friston, Nathaniel D. Daw, Anthony Randal McIntosh, Klaas E. Stephan. 2008

320 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Confronted with a rich sensory environment, the brain must learn statistical regularities across sensory domains to construct causal models of the world. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to furnish neurophysiological evidence that statistical associations are learnt, even when task-irrelevant. Subjects performed an audio-visual target-detection task while being exposed to distractor stimuli. Unknown to them, auditory distractors predicted the presence or absence of subsequent visual distractors. We modeled incidental learning of these associations using a Rescorla–Wagner (RW) model. Activity in primary visual cortex and putamen reflected learning-dependent surprise: these areas responded progressively more to unpredicted, and progressively less to predicted visual stimuli. Critically, this prediction-error response was observed even when the absence of a visual stimulus was surprising. We investigated the underlying mechanism by embedding the RW model into a DCM to show that auditory to visual connectivity changed significantly over time as a function of prediction error. Thus, consistent with predictive coding models of perception, associative learning is mediated by prediction-error dependent changes in connectivity. These results posit a dual role for prediction-error in encoding surprise and driving associative plasticity.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience

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Citations in the corpus

Theory of Mind: A Neural Prediction Problem (2013, positive): “As a result, in a predictive coding model, better speed and accuracy of perception are associated with reduced overall neural responses to predicted stimuli (Kok et al., 2012a; den Ouden et al., 2009).”
Ten Simple Rules for Dynamic Causal Modelling (2009, unknown): “These trial-wise prediction error estimates can be used as modulatory inputs in DCM, controlling changes in connection strength during learning (den Ouden et al., 2009).”
Expectation and Surprise Determine Neural Population Responses in the Ventral Visual Stream (2010, methodology): “We thank Vincent De Gardelle for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.”
Prediction, Cognition and the Brain (2009, background): “…integrated with bottom-up signals communicated through feedforward connections, a process accomplished through specifi c synchronization patterns visible across different levels of the hierarchy (Kveraga et al., 2007b) and changes in connectivity between relevant regions (den Ouden et al., 2009).”
Counterfactual Choice and Learning in a Neural Network Centered on Human Lateral Frontopolar Cortex (2011, background): “During incidental audiovisual learning, the BOLD response in primary visual cortex and putamen was shown to correlate with unsigned prediction errors, when the appearance (or absence) of a black and white shape stimulus was unpredicted (or predicted) by an auditory tone [20].”
How Prediction Errors Shape Perception, Attention, and Motivation (2012, background): “Reprinted from (den Ouden et al., 2009) with permission from the authors.”
Behavioral / Systems / Cognitive Striatal Prediction Error Modulates Cortical Coupling (2010, unknown): “The auditory stimuli were matched for perceived loudness under scanning conditions as described previously (den Ouden et al., 2009).”
Less Is More: Expectation Sharpens Representations in the Primary Visual Cortex (2012, unknown): “These data suggest that expectation facilitates perception by sharpening sensory representations.”
Affective Value in the Predictive Mind (2017, background): “Conversely, “neutral” perceptual prediction errors elicit activity in striatal and midbrain regions, usually connected to reward/punishment and motivational functions (e.g., Schiffer et al. 2012; Iglesias et al. 2013; den Ouden et al. 2009).”
Concurrent Repetition Enhancement and Suppression Responses in Extrastriate Visual Cortex (2012, background): “…dissect the distinct neural levels of stimulus processing (Vuilleumier et al. 2002; Rotshtein et al. 2005) or to assess stimulus processing under implicit or subliminal condition (Henson et al. 2000, 2002; Dehaene et al. 2001; Naccache and Dehaene 2001;Turk-Browne et al. 2006; Kouider et al. 2010).”