When the eyes play tricks, the brain builds consensus – Medical Xpress

When the eyes play tricks, the brain builds consensus  Medical XpressSee more headlines & perspectives on Google News

Have you ever seen something that doesn't quite add up? Maybe a shape in the dark resembles a face, or an orange momentarily looks like an apple. Scientists now have a new idea about how different brain regions may work together to resolve these visual mix-ups. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In a study published in Nature Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cynthia R. Stebbins Fellow Mitra Javadzadeh and collaborators at the University of Cambridge and University College London studied two neighboring regions of the visual cortex. When the regions agreed, their shared activity lasted longer.

But when they disagreed, the mismatch quickly faded within a fraction of a second. This shift offers a glimpse into how the brain forms a consensus for reaching conclusions. Brain regions have specialized blocks that receive distinct streams of information from sensory inputs, yet the brain still operates as a unified whole. "We are trying to understand how you can have such a high level of specialization between these different blocks, yet always have a consistent holistic outcome," Javadzadeh says. Researchers have long identified two visual processing areas in the brain's neocortex: the primary visual cortex (V1) and lateromedial visual area (LM). Whenever the brain