A role for visual areas in physics simulations.
Cogn Neuropsychol
; 38(7-8): 425-439, 2021.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35156547
To engage with the world, we must regularly make predictions about the outcomes of physical scenes. How do we make these predictions? Recent computational evidence points to simulation-the idea that we can introspectively manipulate rich, mental models of the world-as one explanation for how such predictions are accomplished. However, questions about the potential neural mechanisms of simulation remain. We hypothesized that the process of simulating physical events would evoke imagery-like representations in visual areas of those same events. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we find that when participants are asked to predict the likely trajectory of a falling ball, motion-sensitive brain regions are activated. We demonstrate that this activity, which occurs even though no motion is being sensed, resembles activity patterns that arise while participants perceive the ball's motion. This finding thus suggests that mental simulations recreate sensory depictions of how a physical scene is likely to unfold.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Mapeo Encefálico
/
Imagen por Resonancia Magnética
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Cogn Neuropsychol
Asunto de la revista:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido