Neural dynamics of prediction and surprise in infants

TLDR

Prior expectations shape neural responses in sensory regions, supporting Bayesian predictive coding, yet it is unclear whether this mechanism operates during early development. The study investigates how 12‑month‑old infants’ brains respond to prediction violations using a cross‑modal cueing paradigm. Electroencephalographic responses were recorded to expected and unexpected visual events preceded by auditory cues in 12‑month‑old infants. Unexpected events elicited larger responses only at late processing stages linked to conscious access, whereas early perceptual components were amplified for predicted events, indicating that cross‑modal regularities differentially modulate early and late neural responses in infants.

Abstract

Prior expectations shape neural responses in sensory regions of the brain, consistent with a Bayesian predictive coding account of perception. Yet, it remains unclear whether such a mechanism is already functional during early stages of development. To address this issue, we study how the infant brain responds to prediction violations using a cross-modal cueing paradigm. We record electroencephalographic responses to expected and unexpected visual events preceded by auditory cues in 12-month-old infants. We find an increased response for unexpected events. However, this effect of prediction error is only observed during late processing stages associated with conscious access mechanisms. In contrast, early perceptual components reveal an amplification of neural responses for predicted relative to surprising events, suggesting that selective attention enhances perceptual processing for expected events. Taken together, these results demonstrate that cross-modal statistical regularities are used to generate predictions that differentially influence early and late neural responses in infants.