Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...
Perception01:28

Perception

Perception is a fundamental psychological process that enables individuals to organize, interpret, and consciously experience sensory information. This process is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world around us. It includes both bottom-up and top-down processing, each playing a distinct role in how we perceive our environment.
Bottom-up processing begins at the sensory level, where receptors detect external environmental stimuli. These could include the tactile sensation of...
Factors Affecting Perception01:25

Factors Affecting Perception

Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Cause and Effect01:53

Cause and Effect

While variables are sometimes correlated because one does cause the other, it could also be that some other factor, a confounding variable, is actually causing the systematic movement in our variables of interest. For instance, as sales in ice cream increase, so does the overall rate of crime. Is it possible that indulging in your favorite flavor of ice cream could send you on a crime spree? Or, after committing crime do you think you might decide to treat yourself to a cone?
The Availability Heuristic01:08

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A novel application of neural networks to identify potentially effective combinations of biologic factors for enhancement of bone fusion/repair.

PloS one·2022
Same author

Deriving testable hypotheses through an analogy between individual and collective memory.

Progress in brain research·2022
Same author

Computational modeling of the monoaminergic neurotransmitter and male neuroendocrine systems in an analysis of therapeutic neuroadaptation to chronic antidepressant.

European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology·2019
Same author

Computational Analysis of Therapeutic Neuroadaptation to Chronic Antidepressant in a Model of the Monoaminergic Neurotransmitter and Stress Hormone Systems.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2019
Same author

Exploring the Correlation between the Cognitive Benefits of Drug Combinations in a Clinical Database and the Efficacies of the Same Drug Combinations Predicted from a Computational Model.

Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD·2019
Same author

Computational Model of Antidepressant Response Heterogeneity as Multi-pathway Neuroadaptation.

Frontiers in pharmacology·2018

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 7, 2026

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
08:12

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

Probability rather than logic as the basis of perception.

Thomas J Anastasio1

  • 1Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 tja@uiuc.edu http://csn.beckman.uiuc.edu/

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|February 5, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Formal logic may not explain perception. Instead, neural responses across sensory levels might better reflect probabilistic processes, as shown by analyzing midbrain neuron activity.

More Related Videos

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
14:38

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator (TAPS)
19:44

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator (TAPS)

Published on: June 3, 2009

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 7, 2026

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
08:12

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning
14:38

Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

Published on: November 2, 2012

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator (TAPS)
19:44

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator (TAPS)

Published on: June 3, 2009

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Traditional models of perception often rely on formal logic.
  • Understanding neural processing requires evaluating alternative frameworks.
  • The sensory hierarchy presents complex computational challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the suitability of formal logic for describing neural perception.
  • To explore probabilistic models for neural responses in sensory systems.
  • To analyze multisensory integration in the midbrain.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of neuronal responses in the midbrain.
  • Modeling of multisensory integration.
  • Comparison of logical versus probabilistic frameworks.

Main Results:

  • Neuronal responses are better characterized by probability than formal logic.
  • Multisensory integration in the midbrain aligns with probabilistic principles.
  • The sensory hierarchy exhibits probabilistic processing.

Conclusions:

  • Probabilistic frameworks offer a more appropriate model for neural perception than formal logic.
  • Midbrain neuronal activity serves as a key example of probabilistic sensory processing.
  • Future research should focus on probabilistic computational models of the brain.