The human brain continues to astonish researchers. From its learning capabilities to the remarkable fact that our brains emit light, there remains much to uncover regarding the complexities of the human brain. One particularly astonishing aspect, however, is that the brain doesn’t seem to perceive exactly what you perceive. Instead, experts claim that the brain sees what it anticipates seeing.
## The brain decodes subsequent events
As per researchers, the manner in which the brain decodes the information provided by our eyes is quite fascinating. Rather than waiting to witness precisely how a scenario unfolds, your brain proactively predicts what will occur. For example, if you observe a friend reaching for a pot, your brain interprets that their hand will extend toward the pot and grasp the handle.
In most instances, it’s accurate. However, there can always be unexpected changes, which might cause the brain’s perception to not align with reality. This phenomenon is underpinned by what scientists refer to as the action observation network, or AON. This consists of a group of brain regions that activate whenever you observe someone else engaging with an object.
Over the years, this configuration has been corroborated by scientists through analysis of data collected from various laboratory experiments. Nevertheless, those snippets, typically one- to two-second video clips, do not present the complete picture. That’s why a more recent study featured in *Cell Reports* is founded on research aimed at exploring further. Specifically, this new research sought to determine whether the flow of information alters when the viewer can already predict the subsequent step in the sequence.
## Evaluating the concept
To examine this, and to investigate how the brain actually perceives, the researchers designed two distinct versions of regular scenes. In the natural scenario, the actions unfolded as anticipated. Conversely, in the second scene, they rearranged the clips and had participants view both while monitoring their brain activity. Some of the subjects had already been fitted with intracranial electrodes for medical observation, allowing for precise recording of electrical signals from deep within the cortex.
The researchers discovered that the brain operated exactly as anticipated when the sequence of clips in the scene was logical. The data even indicated that when the brain could predict what was next, it actually utilized its visual areas less. Conversely, when the disordered cut was shown, the data revealed how changes in perception by the brain depended on its ability to effectively predict the next step.
Given that the clips were shuffled and disorganized, the brain struggled to accurately ascertain the next phase in the process, resulting in increased activity in other brain regions. These findings also suggest that our motor memories might play a pivotal role in how our brain processes the information transmitted by our eyes. Essentially, our brains rely on memory to perceive.
