Predictive encoding of auditory sequences in the human prefrontal cortex.

ABSTRACT: Humans extract regularities from the environment to form expectations that guide perception and optimize behavior. Although the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is central to this process, the relative contributions of orbitofrontal (OFC) and lateral PFC (LPFC) remain unclear. Here, we show that the brain tracks sound regularities in an auditory deviance detection task to predict when a target deviant will occur. Intracranial EEG in epilepsy patients reveals prefrontal engagement, with earlier expectancy-related modulation in OFC and later modulation in LPFC. Connectivity analyses indicate bidirectional and asymmetrical expectancy-related information exchange between the two areas, with a first lead by OFC, consistent with its role in initiating predictive encoding. Converging causal evidence shows

SUBMITTER: Asko O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12393564 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature