Auditory-vocal control system is object for predictive processing within seconds time range

Predictive processing across hierarchically organized time scales is one of the fundamental principles of neural computations in the cerebral cortex. We hypothesize that relatively complex aggregation of auditory and vocal brain systems that use auditory feedback for reflexive control of vocalizations can be an object for predictive processing. We used repetitive patterns of perturbations in auditory feedback during vocalizations to elicit implicit expectations that were violated by surprising direction of perturbations in one of the experimental conditions. Our results provide empirical support for the idea that formation of expectancy for integrated auditory-vocal brain systems, within the time range of seconds, resulted in two sequential neuronal processes. The first process reflects monitoring and error detection in prediction about perturbations in auditory feedback during vocalizations within the time range of seconds. The second neuronal process can be attributed to the optimization of brain predictions for sensory contingencies during vocalizations at separable and distinct timescales.