Fig. 1
From: Dynamic learning of the meaning of information changes pain perception
Participants viewed a number on a computer screen from 2 to 8 which cued intensity for that Trial. Importantly, participants were instructed that the cue was always truthful. Participants received the stimulus, then a numerical pain scale was presented asking participants to rate the stimulus intensity. Erroneous cues were followed by a stimulus intensity that was higher (A) or lower (B) than the cued intensity, to generate varying degrees of prediction error. The results of our previous analysis23 suggested that past an individually-set boundary, increased prediction error was associated with a decreased influence of cued intensity on pain rating. We also included veridical cues, followed by a stimulus intensity that matched the cued intensity, to maintain participant’s belief in the cues (right), which was associated with zero prediction error.
