Auditory High Entropy Response (A-HER): A Novel Paradigm for Studying Brain Processing of Uncertain Information

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel experimental paradigm - Auditory High Entropy Response (A-HER), which maximizes the information entropy of auditory stimulus sequences. This allows us to study how the brain processes complex information, rather than isolated individual events. Our analysis of the frequency response of the frontal theta rhythm induced by A-HER indicated a significant increase in signal-to-noise ratio and repeatability compared to zero-entropy Auditory Steady-State Response (A-SSR) and low-entropy mismatch negativity (MMN). We further investigated whether the A-HER response was induced by stimulus sequence differences or uncertainty, and studied its propagation rules. Different principles between evoked and entrained were found in A-HER and A-SSR. In conclusion, the A-HER paradigm, by maximizing stimulus sequence uncertainty, offers a new approach to analyzing how the brain processes uncertain information. It has potential for diagnosing and researching neurological and mental diseases, and for brain-computer interfaces, thus potentially impacting neuroscience, cognitive science, and psychology.