Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series - Cortical–Subcortical Interactions

Postdoctoral Fellow, The Neuro, McGill University

Abstract: Perception integrates both sensory inputs and internal models of the environment. In the auditory domain, predictions play a critical role because of the temporal nature of sounds. However, the precise contribution of cortical and subcortical structures in these processes and their interaction remain unclear. It is also unclear whether these brain interactions are specific to abstract rules or if they also underlie the predictive coding of local features. We used high-field 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate interactions between cortical and subcortical areas during auditory predictive processing. Volunteers listened to tone sequences in an oddball paradigm where the predictability of the deviant was manipulated. Perturbations in periodicity were also introduced to test the specificity of the response. Results indicate that both cortical and subcortical auditory structures encode high-order predictive dynamics, with the effect of predictability being strongest in the auditory cortex. These predictive dynamics were best explained by modeling a top–down information flow, in contrast to unpredicted responses. No error signals were observed to deviations of periodicity, suggesting that these responses are specific to abstract rule violations. Our results support the idea that the high-order predictive dynamics observed in subcortical areas propagate from the auditory cortex.

Bio: Alberto Ara graduated in Psychology from the University of Valencia and did his graduate studies in cognitive and brain sciences at the University of Barcelona, where he investigated the brain oscillatory correlates of musical pleasure. After completing his PhD, he moved to Montreal where he has been a postdoctoral fellow at The Neuro for three years. He currently conducts research on the more fundamental brain mechanisms underlying music perception and reward under the supervision of Professor Robert Zatorre.

Host or Publisher The Neuro