Prediction Error Associated with the Perceptual Segmentation of Naturalistic Events

摘要

Predicting the near future is important for survival and playsna central role in theories of perception, language processing,nand learning. Prediction failures may be particularly importantnfor initiating the updating of perceptual and memory systemsnand, thus, for the subjective experience of events. Here, wenasked observers to make predictions about what would happenn5 sec later in a movie of an everyday activity. Those pointsnwhere prediction was more difficult corresponded with subjectivenboundaries in the stream of experience. At points of unpredictability,nmidbrain and striatal regions associated with thenphasic release of the neurotransmitter dopamine transiently increasednin activity. This activity could provide a global updatingnsignal, cuing other brain systems that a significant new event hasnbegun.