Heil Lieke, Kwisthout Johan, van Pelt Stan, van Rooij Iris, Bekkering Harold
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2018 Dec;71(12):2643-2654. doi: 10.1177/1747021817752102. Epub 2018 Jan 23.
Evidence is accumulating that our brains process incoming information using top-down predictions. If lower level representations are correctly predicted by higher level representations, this enhances processing. However, if they are incorrectly predicted, additional processing is required at higher levels to "explain away" prediction errors. Here, we explored the potential nature of the models generating such predictions. More specifically, we investigated whether a predictive processing model with a hierarchical structure and causal relations between its levels is able to account for the processing of agent-caused events. In Experiment 1, participants watched animated movies of "experienced" and "novice" bowlers. The results are in line with the idea that prediction errors at a lower level of the hierarchy (i.e., the outcome of how many pins fell down) slow down reporting of information at a higher level (i.e., which agent was throwing the ball). Experiments 2 and 3 suggest that this effect is specific to situations in which the predictor is causally related to the outcome. Overall, the study supports the idea that a hierarchical predictive processing model can account for the processing of observed action outcomes and that the predictions involved are specific to cases where action outcomes can be predicted based on causal knowledge.
越来越多的证据表明，我们的大脑利用自上而下的预测来处理传入的信息。如果较低层次的表征被较高层次的表征正确预测，这会增强处理效果。然而，如果预测错误，较高层次就需要额外的处理来“消除”预测误差。在此，我们探讨了生成此类预测的模型的潜在本质。更具体地说，我们研究了一个具有层次结构且各层次之间存在因果关系的预测处理模型是否能够解释由主体引起的事件的处理过程。在实验1中，参与者观看了“经验丰富的”和“新手”保龄球手的动画电影。结果符合这样一种观点，即层次结构中较低层次的预测误差（即倒下的保龄球瓶数量的结果）会减缓较高层次信息的报告（即哪个主体在投球）。实验2和3表明，这种效应特定于预测器与结果存在因果关系的情况。总体而言，该研究支持这样一种观点，即层次预测处理模型可以解释对观察到的动作结果的处理，并且所涉及的预测特定于基于因果知识可以预测动作结果的情况。
