Active inference, selective attention, and the cocktail party problem

Emma Holmes; Thomas Parr; Timothy D. Griffiths; Karl J. Friston

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.038

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Active inference, selective attention, and the cocktail party problem

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Active inference, selective attention, and the cocktail party problem

Emma Holmes, Thomas Parr, Timothy D. Griffiths and Karl J. Friston

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, Vol.131, pp.1288-1304

12/01/2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.038

PMCID: PMC8643962

PMID: 34687699

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/8643962View

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Abstract

•New generative model for selective attention during cocktail party listening.•Computational ‘lesions’ in the model dissociate different errors during word report.•We model different temporal hypotheses for preparatory attention.•Temporal changes in precision are necessary to explain ERPs but not reaction times.•CNV-like responses can be explained by subjective precision rather than action. In this paper, we introduce a new generative model for an active inference account of preparatory and selective attention, in the context of a classic ‘cocktail party’ paradigm. In this setup, pairs of words are presented simultaneously to the left and right ears and an instructive spatial cue directs attention to the left or right. We use this generative model to test competing hypotheses about the way that human listeners direct preparatory and selective attention. We show that assigning low precision to words at attended—relative to unattended—locations can explain why a listener reports words from a competing sentence. Under this model, temporal changes in sensory precision were not needed to account for faster reaction times with longer cue-target intervals, but were necessary to explain ramping effects on event-related potentials (ERPs)—resembling the contingent negative variation (CNV)—during the preparatory interval. These simulations reveal that different processes are likely to underlie the improvement in reaction times and the ramping of ERPs that are associated with spatial cueing.

Active inference

Cocktail party listening

Preparatory attention

Selective attention

Spatial attention

Temporal attention

Details

Title: Subtitle: Active inference, selective attention, and the cocktail party problem
Creators: Emma Holmes - University College London
Thomas Parr - University College London
Timothy D. Griffiths - Newcastle University
Karl J. Friston - University College London
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, Vol.131, pp.1288-1304
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.038
PMID: 34687699
PMCID: PMC8643962
NLM abbreviation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev
ISSN: 0149-7634
eISSN: 1873-7528
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Language: English
Date published: 12/01/2021
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Record Identifier: 9984627187302771

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