HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wills, A. J. Articles by Hodgson, T. L. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wills, A. J. Articles by Hodgson, T. L.

Predictive Learning, Prediction Errors, and Attention: Evidence from Event-related Potentials and Eye Tracking

University of Exeter, England, UK

Reprint requests should be sent to A. J. Wills, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4QB, England, or via e-mail: a.j.wills{at}exeter.ac.uk.

Prediction error ("surprise") affects the rate of learning: We learn more rapidly about cues for which we initially make incorrect predictions than cues for which our initial predictions are correct. The current studies employ electrophysiological measures to reveal early attentional differentiation of events that differ in their previous involvement in errors of predictive judgment. Error-related events attract more attention, as evidenced by features of event-related scalp potentials previously implicated in selective visual attention (selection negativity, augmented anterior N1). The earliest differences detected occurred around 120 msec after stimulus onset, and distributed source localization (LORETA) indicated that the inferior temporal regions were one source of the earliest differences. In addition, stimuli associated with the production of prediction errors show higher dwell times in an eye-tracking procedure. Our data support the view that early attentional processes play a role in human associative learning.