Pupil dilation offers a time-window on prediction error.

ABSTRACT: Task-evoked pupil dilation is notably linked to unexpected events. Building on Zénon's (2019) information-theory framework, we investigated whether the pupil's response to feedback on decision outcomes during associative learning reflects a prediction error signal. Operationally, we defined prediction errors as an interaction between stimulus-pair frequency and accuracy. We then tested if these signals correlated with information gain, formally defined as the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between posterior and prior belief distributions of an ideal observer. We reasoned that information gain should be proportional to the precision-weighted prediction error signals potentially arising from neuromodulatory arousal networks. We analyzed two data sets in which participants performed percept

SUBMITTER: Colizoli O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12782557 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature