Suppressed Sensory Response to Predictable Object Stimuli throughout the Ventral Visual Stream
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Abstract
Prediction plays a crucial role in perception, as prominently suggested by predictive coding theories. However, the exact form and mechanism of predictive modulations of sensory processing remain unclear, with some studies reporting a downregulation of the sensory response for predictable input whereas others observed an enhanced response. In a similar vein, downregulation of the sensory response for predictable input has been linked to either sharpening or dampening of the sensory representation, which are opposite in nature. In the present study, we set out to investigate the neural consequences of perceptual expectation of object stimuli throughout the visual hierarchy, using fMRI in human volunteers. Participants of both sexes were exposed to pairs of sequentially presented object images in a statistical learning paradigm, in which the first object predicted the identity of the second object. Image transitions were not task relevant; thus, all learning of statistical regularities was incidental. We found strong suppression of neural responses to expected compared with unexpected stimuli throughout the ventral visual stream, including primary visual cortex, lateral occipital complex, and anterior ventral visual areas. Expectation suppression in lateral occipital complex scaled positively with image preference and voxel selectivity, lending support to the dampening account of expectation suppression in object perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT It has been suggested that the brain fundamentally relies on predictions and constructs models of the world to make sense of sensory information. Previous research on the neural basis of prediction has documented suppressed neural responses to expected compared with unexpected stimuli. In the present study, we demonstrate robust expectation suppression throughout the entire ventral visual stream, and underlying this suppression a dampening of the sensory representation in object-selective visual cortex, but not in primary visual cortex. Together, our results provide novel evidence in support of theories conceptualizing perception as an active inference process, which selectively dampens cortical representations of predictable objects. This dampening may support our ability to automatically filter out irrelevant, predictable objects.
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Complex stimuli like faces may not yield any specific predictions at the level of detail pertaining to the simple stimulus preferences of V1 receptive fields.
“For example, complex stimuli like faces may not yield any specific predictions at the level of detail pertaining to the simple stimulus preferences of V1 receptive fields.”
From Evaluating the neurophysiological evidence for predictive processing as a model of perception (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
The section on dampening in object-selective cortex proposes that object-specific expectations may be resolved higher in the visual hierarchy, with only an expected-versus-unexpected signal fed back to V1. That supports the claim’s tentative point about limited object-specific prediction in V1. The paper studies object images, however, and does not establish the proposed explanation in terms of faces or the simple stimulus preferences of V1 receptive fields. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.80)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSome studies have reported that expected stimulus representations are dampened.
“some studies have reported that expected stimulus representations are dampened”
From Evaluating the neurophysiological evidence for predictive processing as a model of perception (2020) · cites this paper as [79]
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- Authors
- Richter, D., Ekman, M., & de Lange, F. P.
- Affiliations
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2018-07-20
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 34
- Pages
- 7452-7461
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6596138
- OpenAlex
- W2781952111
- Cited by
- 150
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 5.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (452-14-016, 452-13-016)
- H2020 European Research Council (678286)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Visual Attention and Saliency Detection
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- predictive coding, ventral stream, object perception, statistical learning, incidental learning, lateral occipital complex, primary visual cortex, active inference, perceptual expectations, image preference
- MeSH terms
- Bayes Theorem, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Models, Neurological, Occipital Lobe, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Visual Cortex, Visual Pathways, Young Adult
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