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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Tim GriffithsORCiD
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© 2021 Elsevier LtdIn this paper, we introduce a new generative model for an active inference account of preparatory and selective attention, in the context of a classic ‘cocktail party’ paradigm. In this setup, pairs of words are presented simultaneously to the left and right ears and an instructive spatial cue directs attention to the left or right. We use this generative model to test competing hypotheses about the way that human listeners direct preparatory and selective attention. We show that assigning low precision to words at attended—relative to unattended—locations can explain why a listener reports words from a competing sentence. Under this model, temporal changes in sensory precision were not needed to account for faster reaction times with longer cue-target intervals, but were necessary to explain ramping effects on event-related potentials (ERPs)—resembling the contingent negative variation (CNV)—during the preparatory interval. These simulations reveal that different processes are likely to underlie the improvement in reaction times and the ramping of ERPs that are associated with spatial cueing.
Author(s): Holmes E, Parr T, Griffiths TD, Friston KJ
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Year: 2021
Volume: 131
Pages: 1288-1304
Print publication date: 01/12/2021
Online publication date: 21/10/2021
Acceptance date: 17/09/2021
ISSN (print): 0149-7634
ISSN (electronic): 1873-7528
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.038
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.038