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Predictions penetrate perception: Converging insights from brain, behaviour and disorder
Claire O'Callaghan1, Kestutis Kveraga2, James M Shine3
1Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Consciousness and Cognition
|May 26, 2016
Summary
The brain uses diverse cognitive predictions to interpret visual input, demonstrating cognitive penetrability in perception. This predictive processing framework is crucial for understanding visual perception and hallucinations.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neurobiology of Perception
Background:
- Visual perception relies on processing incoming sensory information.
- The brain generates top-down predictions to guide sensory processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate that predictions influencing visual perception stem from diverse cognitive processes.
- To explore the role of cognitive penetrability in visual perception.
- To integrate findings from healthy brains and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Main Methods:
- Review of behavioral and mechanistic evidence.
- Analysis of cognitive domains influencing visual perception (object recognition, context, biases, affect).
- Examination of neuropsychiatric disorders with visual hallucinations.
Main Results:
- Visual perception is influenced by a wide range of cognitive domains.
- Cognitive penetrability plays a central role in visual processing.
- Imbalances in top-down signals contribute to visual hallucinations.
Conclusions:
- Predictive penetration from cognitive, social, and emotional states is fundamental to visual perception.
- A predictive processing framework is essential for understanding visual perception and related disorders.
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