Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Uncertainty: Overview

Uncertainty: Overview

In analytical chemistry, we often perform repetitive measurements to detect and minimize inaccuracies caused by both determinate and indeterminate errors. Despite the cares we take, the presence of random errors means that repeated measurements almost never have exactly the same magnitude. The collective difference between these measurements - observed values - and the estimated or expected value is called uncertainty. Uncertainty is conventionally written after the estimated or expected value.

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...

Factors Affecting Perception

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...

Visual Agnosia

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Modeling information demand in the framework of probabilistic reasoning.

Communications psychology·2026

Same author

A neural code supporting prospective probabilistic reasoning for instrumental information demand in humans.

Communications biology·2024

Same author

The reinforcement metalearner as a biologically plausible meta-learning framework.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2024

Same author

Neural Representations of Sensory Uncertainty and Confidence Are Associated with Perceptual Curiosity.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2024

Same author

The parieto-occipital cortex is a candidate neural substrate for the human ability to approximate Bayesian inference.

Communications biology·2024

Same author

Nonhuman primates exploit the prior assumption that the visual world is vertical.

Journal of neurophysiology·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

Uncertainty modulates visual maps during noninstrumental information demand.

Yvonne Li^1,2, Nabil Daddaoua^1,2, Mattias Horan¹

¹Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Nature Communications

|October 7, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Animals seek information driven by uncertainty and positive outcomes. Parietal cortex activity reflects this, with uncertainty signaling linked to behavior, suggesting distinct neural pathways for information seeking.

More Related Videos

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Published on: September 16, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions

Published on: May 2, 2019

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Experimental Research Examining How People Can Cope with Uncertainty Through Soft Haptic Sensations

Published on: September 16, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Science
Animal Behavior

Background:

Animals possess intrinsic motivation to acquire information, independent of external rewards.
This motivation is driven by the need to reduce uncertainty and seek positive outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying intrinsic information-seeking behavior.
To examine the role of the parietal cortex in processing uncertainty and valence during information acquisition.

Main Methods:

Recorded neural activity in the parietal cortex of monkeys performing an information-seeking task.
Monkeys were free to obtain information about probabilistic rewards without explicit training.

Main Results:

Parietal neuronal activity was independently modulated by both reward valence and uncertainty.
Uncertainty-related neural enhancement, but not valence-related enhancement, consistently correlated with behavioral sensitivity.
Findings suggest distinct neural pathways for uncertainty-driven and valence-driven information demand.

Conclusions:

The parietal cortex plays a crucial role in processing uncertainty during intrinsic information seeking.
Valence-driven information seeking may involve additional downstream neural mechanisms beyond the parietal cortex.