Hierarchy of prediction errors shapes the learning of context-dependent sensory representations

How sensory information is interpreted depends on context. Yet, how context shapes sensory processing in the brain, remains elusive. To investigate this question we combined computational modeling and in vivo functional imaging of cortical neurons in mice during reversal learning of a tactile sensory discrimination task. During learning, layer 2/3 somatosensory neurons enhanced their response to reward-predictive stimuli, explainable as gain amplification from apical dendrites. Reward-prediction errors were reduced and confidence in the outcome prediction increased. Upon rule-reversal, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, through disinhibitory VIP interneurons, encoded a context-prediction error signaling a loss of confidence. The hierarchy of prediction errors in cortical areas is mirrored in top-down signals modulating apical activity in the primary sensory cortex. Our model explains how contextual changes are detected in the brain and how errors in different cortical regions interact to reshape and update the sensory representation.