Dr. Lena Maria Leeners

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Project

The interplay of positive and negative prediction error signals during expectation violations of visual stimuli

Surprising scenarios can have different behavioural and neuronal consequences depending on the violation of the expectation. On the one hand, previous research has shown that the omission of a visual stimulus results in a robust cortical response representing that missing stimulus, a so-called negative prediction error. On the other hand, a large amount of studies revealed positive prediction error signals, entailing an increased neural response that can be attributed to the experience of a surprising, unexpected stimulus. However, it still remains unclear how and when these prediction error signals co-occur. In this project, we investigate whether positive and negative prediction error signals evoked by unpredicted cross-category stimulus transitions can temporally coincide. Moreover, we seek to clarify the relationship between the effects of positive and negative predictions errors and stimulus transition effects caused by equal or unequal stimulus category presentations. We use event-related fMRI and forced-choice decision tasks in which participants have to respond to individual visual images presented in a continuous stream with sequential contingencies.

Publications

Schliephake, L.,Trempler, I., Roehe, M.A., Heins, N., Schubotz,R.I. (2021). Positive and negative prediction error signals to violated expectations of face and place stimuli distinctively activate FFA and PPA. NeuroImage, 236 (2021) 118028 PDF

Roehe, M.A., Kluger, D.S., Schroeder, S.C.Y., Schliephake, L.M., Boelte, J., Jacobsen, T., Schubotz., R.I. (2021). Early alpha/beta oscillations reflect the formation of face-related expectations in the brain. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0255116

Zillekens, I., Schliephake, L., Brandi, M.-L., & Schilbach, L. (2019). A look at actions: Direct gaze modulates functional connectivity of the right TPJ with an action control network. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

Kadosh, K. C., Haller, S. P., Schliephake, L., Duta, M., Scerif, G., & Lau, J. Y. (2018). Subclinically anxious adolescents do not display attention biases when processing emotional faces – An eye-tracking study. Frontiers in Psychology, 9.

Conference Contributions

Schliephake, L., Brandi, M.-L., & Schilbach, L. (April 2016). Modulation of brain activity in the inferior frontal gyrus during the generation of manual actions in a social context. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SANS) conference, New York City, USA.