Brain predicts what eyes in motion will see

Washington, August 26 (ANI): A New study ahs shown that the brain predicts what one is going to see before the eyes take in a new scene.

Published in the Journal of Vision, a research article on the study reveals that people participating in it were asked to shift their eyes to a clock with a fast-moving hand, and to report the time on the clock when their eyes landed on it.

The report says that the average reported time was 39 milliseconds before the actual time.

As a control task, the clock moved instead of the eyes, and the reported arrival times averaged 27 milliseconds after the actual time.

"We've revealed a moment in time when things are not perceived as they actually are. These findings serve as a reminder that every aspect of our experience is constructed by our brains," said lead researcher Dr. Amelia Hunt, of the University of Aberdeen's School of Psychology.

The study suggests that the prediction is a result of remapping, where neurons involved in visual perception become active or dormant to help the brain maintain a stable visual environment despite the constant shift of images on the retina.

The report says: "Remapping allows locations to be continuously represented across the eye movement by maintaining both current and expected locations simultaneously, facilitating the transition between the two." Hunt added: "The finding implies that we experience the predicted consequence of an eye movement as though it is actually occurring, albeit just for a moment."

Hunt said that the research might lead to more investigation of the brain's ability to predict and its role in perception, as well as the link between brain activity and actual experience.

She said that the next step might be to examine under what circumstances predictive processes occur, what function they serve, and to what degree they influence the perception of events. (ANI)