Investigating the Role of Prediction Errors on Memory in Children

Abstract

When there is a discrepancy between what is expected to occur and what actually occurs, a prediction error is generated in the brain. This prediction error plays an important part in the learning process and helps adults update their internal working models (Krawczyk, Fernandez, Pedreira, & Boccia, 2016; Schultz, 2016a). Researchers have recently begun to study the interaction between prediction errors and memory and have found that, for adults, larger magnitude prediction errors lead to better memory accuracy (Rouhani, Norman, & Niv, manuscript in progress). However, this particular study, as well as much of the existing literature surrounding prediction errors, has focused on adult populations. Therefore in our study, we chose to investigate the relationship between prediction error and episodic memory in six-year-olds, in an effort to possibly provide more information about the development of this relationship. Our findings indicate that prediction errors affect memory differently in children, with smaller prediction errors leading to better memory accuracy and faster reaction times than larger prediction errors. These results suggest that at some point in development, the effects that prediction errors have on memory may change. Keywords: prediction error, memory, reaction time, oddball paradigm