Abstract:
The predictive coding theory proposes that the brain continuously generates and updates predictions of sensory information at multiple levels of abstraction, and emits prediction error signals when the predicted and actual sensory inputs differ. This framework has gained significant popularity in recent years because it offers a unified model for the understanding of perception and action. However, neurophysiological evidence supporting this hierarchically organized mechanism remains relatively scarce. In this talk, I will present results from a study where we recorded electrophysiological (EEG) responses to violation of auditory regularity at two different timescales and levels of abstraction from healthy control participants and patients with lesions to the prefrontal cortex. The EEG method allows investigating neural correlates of cognitive processing non-invasively at the level of milliseconds, while examining patients with brain lesions permits inference about the necessity of a brain region for a particular function. Our findings point towards an involvement of a specific prefrontal area, the orbitofrontal cortex, in auditory predictive processing.
Bio:
I am a cognitive neuroscience PhD researcher at RITMO. I belong to Front Neurolab and the Structure and Cognition research cluster. The aim of my project is to understand the neural basis of auditory predictive processing with a specific focus on the role of the prefrontal cortex. With this aim, I use the scalp EEG-method in combination with auditory local-global oddball paradigms to study the electrophysiological responses of patients with brain lesions and healthy control participants. I previously studied psychology in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and cognitive neuroscience in the University of Oslo.