Computational framework for investigating predictive processing in auditory perception.

Abstract Background The brain tracks sound sources as they evolve in time, collecting contextual information to predict future sensory inputs. Previous work in predictive coding typically focuses on the perception of predictable stimuli, leaving the implementation of these same neural processes in more complex, real-world environments containing randomness and uncertainty up for debate. New Method To facilitate investigation into the perception of less tightly-controlled listening scenarios, we present a computational model as a tool to ask targeted questions about the underlying predictive processes that connect complex sensory inputs to listener behavior and neural responses. In the modeling framework, observed sound features (e.g. pitch) are tracked sequentially using Bayesian inference. Sufficient statistics are inferred from past observations at multiple time scales and used to make predictions about future observation while tracking the statistical structure of the sensory input. Results Facets of the model are discussed in terms of their application to perceptual research, and examples taken from real-world audio demonstrate the model's flexibility to capture a variety of statistical structures along various perceptual dimensions. Comparison with Existing Methods Previous models are often targeted toward interpreting a particular experimental paradigm (e.g., oddball paradigm), perceptual dimension (e.g., pitch processing), or task (e.g., speech segregation), thus limiting their ability to generalize to other domains. The presented model is designed as a flexible and practical tool for broad application. Conclusion The model is presented as a general framework for generating new hypotheses and guiding investigation into the neural processes underlying predictive coding of complex scenes.