Shared and Diverging Neural Dynamics Underlying False and Veridical Perception.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Visual Perception

Background:

• False visual perceptions can be as convincing as veridical ones, suggesting overlapping neural mechanisms.
• False perceptions likely originate from internally generated signals, distinct from external stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural overlap between veridical and false visual perception.
• To analyze how the brain processes content discrimination and detection in both true and false percepts.
• To identify unique neural signatures associated with high-confidence false perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Applied multivariate analyses to human magnetoencephalography (MEG) data.
• Participants performed a visual discrimination task with and without actual grating stimuli.
• Noise-only trials were designed to exclude external orientation signals.

Main Results:

• Decoding analyses identified sensory signals corresponding to the content of false percepts.
• High-confidence false percepts, unlike veridical ones, correlated with increased prestimulus alpha/beta power (11-14 Hz).
• A shared neural code for confidence in stimulus presence was observed for both false and veridical percepts.

Conclusions:

• False visual percepts are underpinned by neural signals for both sensory content and detection, mirroring veridical perception.
• Increased prestimulus alpha/beta power is a unique neural correlate of high-confidence false perceptions, possibly indicating top-down influence.