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perception
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The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World
How does experience alter our perceptions? This adapted book excerpt from We Know It When We See It describes how the brain’s visual system rewires itself to make the best use of its neural resources.
neuroscience
‘Noise’ in the Brain Encodes Surprisingly Important Signals
Activity in the visual cortex and other sensory areas is dominated by signals about body movements, down to little tics and twitches. Scientists are now rethinking how they study and conceive of perception.
neuroscience
A Power Law Keeps the Brain’s Perceptions Balanced
Researchers have discovered a surprising mathematical relationship in the brain’s representations of sensory information, with possible applications to AI research.
Abstractions blog
Your Brain Chooses What to Let You See
Beneath our awareness, the brain lets certain kinds of stimuli automatically capture our attention by lowering the priority of the rest.
neuroscience
To Pay Attention, the Brain Uses Filters, Not a Spotlight
A brain circuit that suppresses distracting sensory information holds important clues about attention and other cognitive processes.