Visual Information Is Predictively Encoded in Occipital Alpha/Low-Beta Oscillations

Abstract

Hierarchical predictive coding networks are a general model of sensory processing in the brain. Under neural delays, these networks have been suggested to naturally generate oscillatory activity in approximately the α frequency range (;8-12 Hz). This suggests that α oscillations, a prominent feature of EEG recordings, may be a spectral “fingerprint” of predictive sensory processing. Here, we probed this possibility by investigating whether oscillations over the visual cortex predictively encode visual information. Specifically, we examined whether their power carries information about the position of a moving stimulus, in a temporally predictive fashion. In two experiments (N = 32, 18 female..