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Contributed Talk Session: Thursday, August 14, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm, Room C1.03
Poster Session C: Friday, August 15, 2:00 – 5:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Pupil-linked arousal tracks belief updating in a dynamic auditory enviroment

Lars Kopel¹, Evi van Gastel, Peter Murphy², Simon van Gaal, Mototaka Suzuki, Jan Willem de Gee¹; ¹University of Amsterdam, ²National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Presenter: Lars Kopel

Bayesian theory prescribes that highly surprising outcomes should prompt rapid belief updating. Here we developed a novel passive belief updating protocol, suitable for humans and potentially mice. We observed multiple pupil-based signatures of belief updating: (i) pupil response magnitude was enhanced for stimuli that were unexpected given the recent history, and (ii) the relationship between pupil response magnitude and Bayesian change-point probability (surprise), derived from a normative belief updating model, reflected the participant’s belief about the volatility of the environment. We conclude that phasic arousal supports belief updating when encountering unexpected incoming information.

Topic Area: Predictive Processing & Cognitive Control

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF