Predictive brain signals across cortex during cognitive tasks
Official title: Investigation of predictive processing during cognitive performance
Funded at Vanderbilt University · NIH-11430461 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A Vanderbilt team will study how the brain predicts what will happen next during a visual working-memory task, using advanced recording and light-based techniques.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $507,102 |
| NIH project number | 1R01MH145738-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11430461 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are individuals or animals suitable for advanced neurophysiology studies and tasks measuring prediction and memory, under appropriate ethical approvals.
✕Less likely to help
People not involved in neural recording studies or with unrelated conditions are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
This project investigates how the brain encodes and shares predictions across cortical areas during a task that uses visual sequences held in working memory. Researchers will employ the Global-local Delayed Match to Sample (GDMS) task to generate prediction errors and compare them with other brain signals like attention and reward expectancy. They will use optogenetics to selectively control certain inhibitory cells and high-density laminar recording to map activity across brain layers and regions. The study aims to identify where predictable information is represented and how prediction errors are signaled throughout the cortex. These methods will help link predictive processing theories to observable brain dynamics in humans and animals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how the brain predicts and learns from errors could inform interventions for disorders with predictive processing differences, including autism.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown that cortical predictions can be tracked, but this project uses new methods to isolate prediction signals across layers and regions.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bastos, Andre Moraes — Vanderbilt University
- Study coordinator: Bastos, Andre Moraes
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.