Presenter(s): Konrad Bailey
Faculty Mentor(s): Santiago Jaramillo
Poster 29
Session: Sciences
‘Controlled hallucination’ is a term that has been used to describe the process of interpreting sensory information according to the theory of predictive coding. This theory posits that the brain’s mechanisms for interpreting sensory information function by generating predictions about the external world and comparing these predictions to sensory signals. The objective of my study in the Jaramillo lab is to identify neuronal mechanisms for how the brain generates predictions about patterns of sounds. The resulting data will aid the process of testing the validity of the theory of predictive coding. In order to achieve an in-depth analysis of neuronal mechanisms for generating predictions the study requires a level of experimental access only available with animal test subjects. We use mice because of the range of available tools for monitoring and manipulating neural activity in this species. We trained a cohort of mice in a reward-driven behavioral task that required the animals to make predictions about incoming sounds. Our preliminary data suggests we were successful in training the mice to detect when a predicted pattern had been altered. Electrophysiological experiments will then be used to evaluate the neural basis of generating these predictions. Specifically, I will record the activity of auditory cortical neurons to evaluate how the sound patterns are represented when they’re expected vs. unexpected. The data we gather will help to either support or oppose the theory that we live in, as psychologist Chris Frith put it, ‘a fantasy that coincides with reality’.