Predictive Coding

Predictive Coding is a theory in neuroscience that posits that brain makes predictions about sensory input and updates these predictions based on incoming information.

The prediction error is then used to update the brain's internal model to make future predictions more accurate.

Higher order brain areas generate predictions that are sent down to lower order areas and then prediction errors are sent back up.

Experiments in mouse found that processing in some layers of visual cortex is correlated with prediction error of visual feedback, with the prediction based on motor and visual input. [In Sensorimotor Mismatch Signals in Primary Visual Cortex of the Behaving Mouse.pdf]

When the sensory input matches the prediction, the error signal is reduced, and the brain can efficiently process the input without needing to devote significant resources.

The same top down flow of information/prediction might also relate to the idea of preception being guided by expectation.