The interplay of positive and negative prediction error signals during expectation violations of visual stimuli

Contact: Lena Maria Leeners

Surprising scenarios can have different behavioural and neuronal consequences depending on the violation of the expectation. On the one hand, previous research has shown that the omission of a visual stimulus results in a robust cortical response representing that missing stimulus, a so-called negative prediction error. On the other hand, a large amount of studies revealed positive prediction error signals, entailing an increased neural response that can be attributed to the experience of a surprising, unexpected stimulus. However, it still remains unclear how and when these prediction error signals co-occur. In this project, we investigate whether positive and negative prediction error signals evoked by unpredicted cross-category stimulus transitions can temporally coincide. Moreover, we seek to clarify the relationship between the effects of positive and negative predictions errors and stimulus transition effects caused by equal or unequal stimulus category presentations. We use event-related fMRI and forced-choice decision tasks in which participants have to respond to individual visual images presented in a continuous stream with sequential contingencies.

Read more:

Schliephake, L.,Trempler, I., Roehe, M.A., Heins, N., Schubotz,R.I. (2021). Positive and negative prediction error signals to violated expectations of face and place stimuli distinctively activate FFA and PPA. NeuroImage, 236 (2021) 118028