Audiovisual prediction using brain and behaviour measures

The brain’s ability to generate predictions provides a foundation for efficient processing. When one event reliably follows another, the presence of the first event provides information about aspects of the second. Knowledge of this association can be advantageous; for instance, being able to anticipate what someone will say based on their previous lip movements; however, what is not clear is how the brain uses knowledge about future events to benefit processing. In order to provide an insight into this broad question, this thesis focuses on the specific example of auditory events that have been preceded by visual ones. While this topic may seem limited at first, it contains the essential elements that underpin a more complex study (Figure 1.1). This well-defined relationship describes a simple and controllable experimental setup that enables exploration of some key issues in sensory, perceptual and cognitive processing