The multifaceted role of the inferior colliculus in sensory prediction, reward processing, and decision-making.

ABSTRACT: The inferior colliculus (IC) has traditionally been regarded as an important relay in the auditory pathway, primarily involved in relaying auditory information from the brainstem to the thalamus. However, this study uncovers the multifaceted role of the IC in bridging auditory processing, sensory prediction, and reward prediction. Through extracellular recordings in monkeys engaged in a sound duration-based deviation detection task, we observed a 'climbing effect' in neuronal firing rates, indicative of an enhanced response over sound sequences linked to sensory prediction rather than reward anticipation. Moreover, our findings demonstrate reward prediction errors within the IC, highlighting its complex integration in auditory and reward processing. Further analysis revealed a direct corre

SUBMITTER: Du X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11778927 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature