Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation.
Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neuromodulatory transmitter implicated in perception and learning under uncertainty. This study combined computational simulations and pharmaco-electroencephalography in humans, to test a formulation of perceptual inference based upon the free energy principle. This formulat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2013
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| _version_ | 1826271002410090496 |
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| author | Moran, R Campo, P Symmonds, M Stephan, K Dolan, R Friston, K |
| author_facet | Moran, R Campo, P Symmonds, M Stephan, K Dolan, R Friston, K |
| author_sort | Moran, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Acetylcholine (ACh) is a neuromodulatory transmitter implicated in perception and learning under uncertainty. This study combined computational simulations and pharmaco-electroencephalography in humans, to test a formulation of perceptual inference based upon the free energy principle. This formulation suggests that ACh enhances the precision of bottom-up synaptic transmission in cortical hierarchies by optimizing the gain of supragranular pyramidal cells. Simulations of a mismatch negativity paradigm predicted a rapid trial-by-trial suppression of evoked sensory prediction error (PE) responses that is attenuated by cholinergic neuromodulation. We confirmed this prediction empirically with a placebo-controlled study of cholinesterase inhibition. Furthermore, using dynamic causal modeling, we found that drug-induced differences in PE responses could be explained by gain modulation in supragranular pyramidal cells in primary sensory cortex. This suggests that ACh adaptively enhances sensory precision by boosting bottom-up signaling when stimuli are predictable, enabling the brain to respond optimally under different levels of environmental uncertainty. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:49:45Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:4ad790fa-87ba-467a-b308-648c8fa144c5 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:49:45Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:4ad790fa-87ba-467a-b308-648c8fa144c52022-03-26T15:39:59ZFree energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:4ad790fa-87ba-467a-b308-648c8fa144c5EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2013Moran, RCampo, PSymmonds, MStephan, KDolan, RFriston, KAcetylcholine (ACh) is a neuromodulatory transmitter implicated in perception and learning under uncertainty. This study combined computational simulations and pharmaco-electroencephalography in humans, to test a formulation of perceptual inference based upon the free energy principle. This formulation suggests that ACh enhances the precision of bottom-up synaptic transmission in cortical hierarchies by optimizing the gain of supragranular pyramidal cells. Simulations of a mismatch negativity paradigm predicted a rapid trial-by-trial suppression of evoked sensory prediction error (PE) responses that is attenuated by cholinergic neuromodulation. We confirmed this prediction empirically with a placebo-controlled study of cholinesterase inhibition. Furthermore, using dynamic causal modeling, we found that drug-induced differences in PE responses could be explained by gain modulation in supragranular pyramidal cells in primary sensory cortex. This suggests that ACh adaptively enhances sensory precision by boosting bottom-up signaling when stimuli are predictable, enabling the brain to respond optimally under different levels of environmental uncertainty. |
| spellingShingle | Moran, R Campo, P Symmonds, M Stephan, K Dolan, R Friston, K Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title | Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title_full | Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title_fullStr | Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title_short | Free energy, precision and learning: the role of cholinergic neuromodulation. |
| title_sort | free energy precision and learning the role of cholinergic neuromodulation |
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