Violated Predictions Enhance the Representational Fidelity of Visual Features in Perception

Predictive coding theories argue that recent experience establishes expectations that generate prediction errors when violated. In humans, brain imaging studies have revealed unique signatures of violated predictions in sensory cortex, but the perceptual consequences of these effects remain unknown. We had observers perform a dual-report task on the orientation of a briefly presented target grating within predictable or random sequences, while we recorded pupil size as an index of surprise. Observers first made a speeded response to categorize the orientation of the target grating (clockwise or counterclockwise from vertical), then reproduced its orientation without time pressure by rotating a bar. This allowed us to separately assess response speed and precision for the same stimuli. Critically, on half the trials, the target orientation deviated from the spatiotemporal structure established by the preceding gratings. Observers responded faster and more accurately to unexpected gratings, and pupillometry provided physiological evidence of observers' surprise in response to these events. In a second experiment, we cued the spatial location and timing of the grating and found the same pattern of results, demonstrating that unexpected orientation information is sufficient to produce faster and more precise responses, even when the location and timing of the relevant stimuli are fully expected. These findings indicate that unexpected events are prioritized by the visual system both in terms of processing speed and representational fidelity.