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Brief Communications

Temporal Prediction in lieu of Periodic Stimulation

Benjamin Morillon, Charles E. Schroeder, Valentin Wyart and Luc H. Arnal
Journal of Neuroscience 24 February 2016, 36 (8) 2342-2347; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0836-15.2016
Benjamin Morillon
1McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada,
2Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032,
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Charles E. Schroeder
2Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032,
3Translational Cognitive Neuroscience Program, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962,
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Valentin Wyart
4Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives, Inserm unit 960, Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France, and
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Luc H. Arnal
5Department of Neuroscience, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
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This article has a correction. Please see:

  • Correction: Morillon et al., Temporal Prediction in lieu of Periodic Stimulation - May 04, 2016

Abstract

Predicting not only what will happen, but also when it will happen is extremely helpful for optimizing perception and action. Temporal predictions driven by periodic stimulation increase perceptual sensitivity and reduce response latencies. At the neurophysiological level, a single mechanism has been proposed to mediate this twofold behavioral improvement: the rhythmic entrainment of slow cortical oscillations to the stimulation rate. However, temporal regularities can occur in aperiodic contexts, suggesting that temporal predictions per se may be dissociable from entrainment to periodic sensory streams. We investigated this possibility in two behavioral experiments, asking human participants to detect near-threshold auditory tones embedded in streams whose temporal and spectral properties were manipulated. While our findings confirm that periodic stimulation reduces response latencies, in agreement with the hypothesis of a stimulus-driven entrainment of neural excitability, they further reveal that this motor facilitation can be dissociated from the enhancement of auditory sensitivity. Perceptual sensitivity improvement is unaffected by the nature of temporal regularities (periodic vs aperiodic), but contingent on the co-occurrence of a fulfilled spectral prediction. Altogether, the dissociation between predictability and periodicity demonstrates that distinct mechanisms flexibly and synergistically operate to facilitate perception and action.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Temporal predictions are increasingly recognized as fundamental instruments for optimizing performance, enabling mammals to exploit regularities in the world. However, the notion of temporal predictions is often confounded with the idea of entrainment to periodic sensory inputs. At the behavioral level, it is also unclear whether perceptual sensitivity and reaction time improvements benefit the same way from temporal predictions and periodic stimulation. In two behavioral experiments on human participants, we find that periodic stimulation facilitates response readiness, whereas temporal predictions improve the precision of auditory processing. This latter effect arises regardless of the nature of temporal regularities (periodic vs aperiodic), but depends on the co-occurrence of a fulfilled spectral prediction.

  • auditory perception
  • behavior
  • oscillation
  • prediction
  • psychophysics
  • rhythm
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The Journal of Neuroscience: 36 (8)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 36, Issue 8
24 Feb 2016
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Temporal Prediction in lieu of Periodic Stimulation
Benjamin Morillon, Charles E. Schroeder, Valentin Wyart, Luc H. Arnal
Journal of Neuroscience 24 February 2016, 36 (8) 2342-2347; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0836-15.2016

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Temporal Prediction in lieu of Periodic Stimulation
Benjamin Morillon, Charles E. Schroeder, Valentin Wyart, Luc H. Arnal
Journal of Neuroscience 24 February 2016, 36 (8) 2342-2347; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0836-15.2016
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Keywords

  • auditory perception
  • behavior
  • oscillation
  • prediction
  • psychophysics
  • rhythm

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