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Evidence of a predictive coding hierarchy in the human brain listening to speech

Bibliographic Data

ID4681977
AuthorsCharlotte Caucheteux (0000-0002-3965-3143, École Polytechnique, corresponding author), Alexandre Gramfort (0000-0001-9791-4404, École Polytechnique), Jean-Remi King (0000-0002-2121-170X, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume7
Issue3
Pages430-441
Publication date2023-03-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNature Human Behaviour (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2397-3374 • E-ISSN: 2397-3374
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1038/s41562-022-01516-2
PMID36864133
OpenAlexW4322766928
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited69

Considerable progress has recently been made in natural language processing: deep learning algorithms are increasingly able to generate, summarize, translate and classify texts. Yet, these language models still fail to match the language abilities of humans. Predictive coding theory offers a tentative explanation to this discrepancy: while language models are optimized to predict nearby words, the human brain would continuously predict a hierarchy of representations that spans multiple timescales. To test this hypothesis, we analysed the functional magnetic resonance imaging brain signals of 304 participants listening to short stories. First, we confirmed that the activations of modern language models linearly map onto the brain responses to speech. Second, we showed that enhancing these algorithms with predictions that span multiple timescales improves this brain mapping. Finally, we showed that these predictions are organized hierarchically: frontoparietal cortices predict higher-level, longer-range and more contextual representations than temporal cortices. Overall, these results strengthen the role of hierarchical predictive coding in language processing and illustrate how the synergy between neuroscience and artificial intelligence can unravel the computational bases of human cognition

Active listening · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Computational model · Functional magnetic resonance imaging · Hierarchy · Human brain · Language model · Natural language processing · Predictive coding · Action Observation and Synchronization · Communication · Computer Science · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Neuroscience · Psychology · Topic Modeling · Artificial Intelligence

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Citation span2024 - 2026 (3)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 13

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