Young Infants Process Prediction Errors at the Theta Rhythm

• In Event: The theta rhythm as a neural signature of early learning processes

Abstract

Examining how young infants respond to unexpected events, is key to our understanding of their emerging concepts about the world around them (Spelke and Kinzler, 2007). Infants reliably show increased attention towards unexpected (i.e., unpredicted) events, which allows them to refine predictive models about their environment. Yet, the neural processing of prediction errors in the infant brain is not well understood (Köster et al., 2020).
In a first study, we presented 9-month-olds (N = 36) a series of physical and social events with unexpected versus expected outcomes (Figure 1), while recording their electroencephalogram. We found a pronounced 4 – 5 Hz theta response for the processing of unexpected (in contrast to expected) events, for a prolonged time window (2 s) and across all scalp-recorded electrodes (Figure 2), t(35) = -2.33, p = .025.
In a second study, we used rhythmic visual brain stimulation in 9-month-olds (N = 38) to elicit oscillations of the theta (4 Hz) and the alpha (6 Hz) rhythms while presenting events with unexpected or expected outcomes. We found that visually entrained theta oscillations sharply increased for unexpected outcomes, in contrast to expected outcomes, t(37) = 2.85, p = .007, in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram. Visually entrained alpha oscillations did not differ between conditions, t(37) = 0.41, p = .684.
In summary, these findings constitute critical evidence that the theta rhythm is involved in the processing of prediction errors from very early in human brain development, supporting infants’ refinement of basic concepts about the physical and social environment.

Authors

• Moritz Köster, Freie Universität Berlin
  Presenting Author

• Christine Michel, Leipzig University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Miriam Langeloh, Heidelberg University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Stefanie Hoehl, University of Vienna
  Non-Presenting Author