Hierarchy of prediction errors for auditory events in human temporal and frontal cortex

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1525030113
• Publication Date: 2016-06-01T03:18:41Z
• Authors: Stefan Dürschmid; Erik Edwards; Christoph Reichert; Callum Dewar; Hermann Hinrichs; Hans-Jochen Heinze; Heidi E. Kirsch; Sarang S. Dalal; Leon Y. Deouell; Robert T. Knight
• Keywords: Predictive coding; Temporal cortex; Frontal cortex; Human brain

Significance To survive, organisms must constantly form predictions of the future based on past regularities. When are violated, action may be needed. Different scales environmental regularity need to encompass both subsecond repetitions and complex structures spanning longer timescales. How different parts brain monitor these temporal regularities produce prediction error signals is unclear. Utilizing subdural electrocorticographic electrodes with an auditory paradigm involving local global regularities, we show that frontal cortex sensitive big picture, responding high γ-band activity exclusively globally unpredictable changes, whereas equally responds any change in immediate history. These results reveal a hierarchy predictive coding recorded directly from human brain.