WASHINGTON, D.C. New findings from studies in both people and animals are revealing clues about how sensory information and cognitive processes interact in the brain to produce our perception of the world. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2021, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the worlds largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.

Sensory inputs, such as sights, sounds, and touches, yield rich information about the external world. But our perception and interpretation of sensations are heavily shaped by cognitive processes such as attention, expectation, and memory. A better understanding of the neural basis of perceptual phenomena will help clarify both ordinary experiences such as the ability to pick a single voice out of a noisy background and disorders in which perception is altered such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimers disease.

Todays new findings show:

The neuroscience findings presented today demonstrate the importance of comparative brain studies in long-standing issues in human perception and cognition, said Sabine Kastner, a professor at Princeton University who studies visual perception and attention. These advances show how research in different model systems can come together to inform our understanding of the human brain, from the neurobiological mechanisms of perception to our subjective perceptual experiences.

This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health and private funding organizations. Find out more about sensory perception and the brain on BrainFacts.org.

Mechanisms of Perception Press Conference Summary

PV Neurons Enhance Cortical Coding in the Cocktail Party Problem

Kamal Sen, kamalsen@bu.edu, Abstract P442.10

Body Ownership and the Neural Processes of Memory Encoding and Reinstatement

Heather Iriye, heather.iriye@ki.se, Abstract P505.02

The Neural Bases of Simulation in the Primate Brain

David Sheinberg, David_Sheinberg@brown.edu, Abstract P775.01

Closed-loop EEG-TMS Modulation of Frontal-occipital Communication Enhances Visual Perception

Nitzan Censor, censornitzan@tauex.tau.ac.il, Abstract P767.09

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About the Society for Neuroscience

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide.

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How does the brain create our perception of reality? - EurekAlert