Late N1 and postimperative negative variation analysis depending on the previous trial history in paradigms of increasing auditory complexity

Abstract

Predictive coding reflects the ability of the human brain to extract environmental patterns in order to reformulate previous expectations. The present report analyzes through the late N1 auditory component and the post imperative negative variation (PINV) the updating of predictions regarding the characteristics of a new trial, depending on the previous trial history, complexity, and type of trial (standard or deviant). Data were obtained from 31 healthy subjects recorded in a previous study, based on two paradigms composed of stimulus sequences of decreasing or increasing frequencies intermingled with the sporadic appearance of unexpected tone endings. Our results showed a higher amplitude for the most complex condition and deviant trials for both the late N1 and the PINV components. Additionally, the N1 and PINV presented a different amplitude response to the standard and deviant trials as a function of previous trial history, suggesting a continuous updating of trial categorization. The results suggest that the late N1 and PINV components are involved in the generation of an internal model about the rules of external auditory stimulation.

Systemic neurophysiological signals of auditory predictive coding

“…Interestingly, in the long latency ERP analysis, CNV and PINV were found in both the active and passive conditions with a similar morphology in the time course domain, although with a higher amplitude in the active condition for the CNV. These results are consistent with previous findings from our group (Ruiz‐Martínez et al., 2021, 2022) and, by adding the active condition comparison, provide an additional level of empirical support for the view of these slow evoked potentials as brain predictive coding phenomena, elicited even under unattended auditory stimulation. Moreover, this finding highlights the predictive brain processes of anticipation (CNV) and updating (PINV), respectively, as shared automatic predictive coding phenomena in passive and active conditions.…”

“…In recent years, these paradigms have continued to be of important interest and have been studied extensively in the MMN literature, providing further support for the predictive coding view of MMN (Hsu et al., 2015; Li et al., 2019; Ruiz‐Martínez et al., 2021; Wacongne et al., 2011). Furthermore, auditory patterns have shown to be potentially suitable for eliciting other ERPs related to top‐down processes, such as the contingent negative variation (CNV) and the consecutive post‐imperative negative variation (PINV) (Ruiz‐Martínez et al., 2022), which are slow ERPs that have been scarcely addressed within the framework of predictive coding so far. CNV and PINV represent two phases (deflection and recovery) of the same slow and long‐lasting negative wave, and they are more commonly observed in active forewarning reaction time tasks following a warning stimulus (cue) and a deviant imperative stimulus (target), respectively (Kathmann et al., 1990; Walter et al., 1964).…”

“…CNV and PINV represent two phases (deflection and recovery) of the same slow and long‐lasting negative wave, and they are more commonly observed in active forewarning reaction time tasks following a warning stimulus (cue) and a deviant imperative stimulus (target), respectively (Kathmann et al., 1990; Walter et al., 1964). The CNV has been related to cognitive processes such as expectancy or motor readiness, whereas the PINV has been linked to cognitive processes such as uncertainty or reappraisal of ambiguous contingencies, with its amplitude being higher for deviant stimuli (Arjona et al., 2014; Klein et al., 1996; Ruiz‐Martínez et al., 2022). Both ERPs are typically studied under conscious attentional demands in active experimental tasks.…”

“…Both ERPs are typically studied under conscious attentional demands in active experimental tasks. However, their elicitation during passive or involuntary encoding of sensory information has been little analyzed and discussed in the literature until very recently (Ruiz‐Martínez et al., 2022).…”