Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the I-see-what-you-didn't-do-there dept.

Role of Expectation in What We See Is Stronger Than Previously Thought, Study Finds:

In the visual cortex, where the brain first begins building a picture of what your eyes are seeing, incoming information from the eyes merges with feedback signals containing contextual information originating from deeper in the brain. These feedback signals have long been considered merely “modulatory” – helping shift focus of attention to different parts of the visual field, for instance.

But in a new study in which [Andreas] Keller, fellow postdoc Morgane Roth, PhD, and Scanziani investigated what enables neurons in the visual system to respond to context when a stimulus is not available, they found that feedback from higher-order visual centers in the brain has much more influence over our fundamental visual processing than scientists had ever realized.

[...] “In other words – when there is nothing to see, the brain sees what it expects to see based on the context,” Keller said. “This work adds to a growing recognition of the brain as a ‘prediction machine.’ The simplest neurons of the visual cortex don’t just robotically process whatever data is coming in from the eye, but at the same time are comparing it to perhaps your whole visual life history to anticipate what you expect to see.”

Journal Reference:
Andreas J. Keller, Morgane M. Roth, Massimo Scanziani. Feedback generates a second receptive field in neurons of the visual cortex, Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2319-4)


Original Submission

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(1)
  • (Score: 2) by pvanhoof on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:11PM

    by pvanhoof (4638) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:11PM (#1012054) Homepage

    Ah, that explains the gnomes while on psychedelic mushrooms. I thought it was because of my desktop's softwares that I kept seeing those creatures.

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:11PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:11PM (#1012055)

    I'll see it when I believe it.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by acid andy on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:25PM (2 children)

    by acid andy (1683) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:25PM (#1012059) Homepage Journal

    *clicks on SoylentNews article*

    I see trolls, lots and lots of trolls. RWNJs who are also being trolls. And a couple of very insightful ACs.

    --
    If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:25AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:25AM (#1012287)

      Don't forget us shitheads.

      • (Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:59PM

        by acid andy (1683) on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:59PM (#1012425) Homepage Journal

        How could I?

        --
        If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:37PM (10 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:37PM (#1012063)

    I expect to see journals listed on the front page.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:03PM (7 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:03PM (#1012074)

      Good to know I'm not the only one the slashbox is broken for.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:36PM (6 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:36PM (#1012092)

        more missing slashbox comments on the IRC channel (link on left of the home page).

        • (Score: 2, Interesting) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:58PM (5 children)

          by aristarchus (2645) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:58PM (#1012124) Journal

          Something is wrong. A bunch of aristarchus submissions were mass rejected for no reason!

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @08:01PM (4 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @08:01PM (#1012126)

            That's not a bug, it's an enhancement request.

            • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @08:53PM (3 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @08:53PM (#1012145)

              What happened to your righeous indignation about websites canceling people? Don't tell me your morals and ideals only apply when convenient.

              • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday June 24 2020, @09:59PM

                by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 24 2020, @09:59PM (#1012172) Journal

                My own righteous indignation can apply when it is inconvenient as well as when it is convenient. So I am consistent.

                Just as long as I can selectively apply it when I want it to -- whether convenient or not.

                I am able to (somehow) define that is "being consistent", since I always, consistently, selectively apply my rules with the same arbitrary selective nature.

                For example: orange man very bad. Terrible. Very bad. Bad. Very very bad.

                --
                People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @10:29PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @10:29PM (#1012181)

                What happened to having sense of humor?

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:15AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:15AM (#1012282)

                  Aristarchus is not funny. He is deadly serious. Like a diamond bullet, through your brain. If a had a hundred men like him, this conflict would soon be over.

                  Signed, Col. Kurtz
                  Inside Cambodia

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:35PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:35PM (#1012091) Journal

      Yeah, what happened to that?

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:21PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:21PM (#1012110)

      exaeta went GBCW, and took the entire Journals section of the front page with him, evidently. So Sade! (He was French, you know.)

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:56PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @05:56PM (#1012069)

    When we lost access to a convenient proving ground, we installed lights, cycle fenders and other road equipment on a single seat car so we could continue testing on empty roads. Back and forth to our chosen testing areas, we used normal suburban roads for this *very* unconventional looking car--roughly the size and shape of an early 1960s Formula One car. When I was driving the support car I got in the habit of looking at the drivers in approaching cars:
              * About half swiveled their heads trying to get a better look
              * The other half kept looking straight ahead as if they saw nothing
    Perhaps type 2 observers didn't (subjectively) see anything? Such an odd car couldn't possibly be there, so their brain just filled in road details and edited out the "mirage"?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:05PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:05PM (#1012076)

      Probably they were just unconsciously driving, reacting without thought. I often find myself doing that while driving and listening to music.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:26PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:26PM (#1012086)

        Highway hypnosis.

        Damn it always scares me when I get to my location and I don't remember actually driving there...

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:33AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:33AM (#1012290)

          Sometimes I forget driving there and forget driving back and end up in my armchair surrounded by empty bottles. Happening more and more lately.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:40PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:40PM (#1012095)

        > while driving and listening to music

        Stereos in cars weren't all that great in the early 1980s (with the exception of a few hi-fi nuts). This was mid-day, middle-American suburbs, light local traffic--we stayed off the larger main roads on purpose to keep speed down when we were just transiting to near-empty roads for testing.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:39PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:39PM (#1012094) Journal

      Get distracted by strange cars, and you'll smash into a flatbed truck and decapitate yourself.

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:05PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:05PM (#1012075)

    I never thought about it previously.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:27PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:27PM (#1012087)

    If you don't tell the truth, we'll make shit up. Fuck you. One way or another we will get the facts.

    Of course I'm only telling this to people in authority. They are the ones we have to bring down.

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:35AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:35AM (#1012292)

      After you, AC.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:47PM (2 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 24 2020, @06:47PM (#1012096) Journal

    Maybe this is why optical illusions work. The visual system is presented with something novel. But having some real or perceived context in which to interpret it.

    Illusions I found most interesting are ones that induce perceived motion. With the Snakes [google.com] illusion, I've seen people argue that it is an animated GIF or some other computer trick -- even when the illusion is printed out on paper and hung on the door. Yes, really. About a decade and a half ago.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:11PM

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:11PM (#1012103)

      Maybe this is why optical illusions work

      Some of them, certainly. I've always been a little tripped out by things like traffic lights in peripheral vision. I know it's there, I know it's a traffic light, I've got a solid picture in my mind of what it looks like, but in my mind none of the lights are on until I actually see one of them.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:21PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:21PM (#1012109)

      Optical illusions depend upon the brain misinterpreting what's going on. There are multiple ways in which that can happen, but in all cases it's the result of the brain improperly interpreting what it's seeing.

      As somebody with a brain that's particularly weak at processing visual stimuli, this article isn't even remotely surprising. I often times outright cannot see things unless I expect them to be there. It also shouldn't be much of a surprise as the brain needs to cut down a lot on the visual stimuli coming in as there's just too much to completely process.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2020, @07:59PM (#1012125)

    Everyone is seeing what they expect to, and given that expectations in most people are set by the media...

  • (Score: 2) by gawdonblue on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:40AM

    by gawdonblue (412) on Thursday June 25 2020, @01:40AM (#1012244)

    So many "virtual" this and thats in the world these days that my eye keeps reading "virtual" instead "visual". So this article introduced me to the concept of the "virtual cortex". Serendipitously, perhaps.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:05AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2020, @02:05AM (#1012258)
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by hendrikboom on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:14AM

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 25 2020, @03:14AM (#1012281) Homepage Journal

    This may explain why eye-witness testimony can be so unreliable.

(1)