Why do imagery and perception look and feel so different?

Koenig‐Robert, Roger; Pearson, Joel

doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0703

Cited by 39 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Since higher visual areas predominantly feed into layer 2/3 and more distant cortical areas predominantly feed into layer into 5/6, one suggestion is that top-down influences to layer 2/3 are reflected in illusions that we experience as visual perception, whilst top-down influences to layer 5/6 are reflect as imagery ( Bergmann et al 2019 ; Koenig-Robert and Pearson 2021 ). One potential problem with this account is that Kok et al (2016) find that the Kaniza triangle illusion only activates layer 5/6, not 2/3.…”

Section: V1 As the Neural Correlate Of The Visual Perception/cognition Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%

V1 as an egocentric cognitive map

Linton

2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

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We typically distinguish between V1 as an egocentric perceptual map and the hippocampus as an allocentric cognitive map. In this article, we argue that V1 also functions as a post-perceptual egocentric cognitive map. We argue that three well-documented functions of V1, namely (i) the estimation of distance, (ii) the estimation of size, and (iii) multisensory integration, are better understood as post-perceptual cognitive inferences. This argument has two important implications. First, we argue that V1 must function as the neural correlates of the visual perception/cognition distinction and suggest how this can be accommodated by V1’s laminar structure. Second, we use this insight to propose a low-level account of visual consciousness in contrast to mid-level accounts (recurrent processing theory; integrated information theory) and higher-level accounts (higher-order thought; global workspace theory). Detection thresholds have been traditionally used to rule out such an approach, but we explain why it is a mistake to equate visibility (and therefore the presence/absence of visual experience) with detection thresholds.

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Section: V1 As the Neural Correlate Of The Visual Perception/cognition Boundarymentioning

confidence: 99%

V1 as an egocentric cognitive map

Linton

2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

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“…According to our model, this is achieved simply by evaluating whether the total strength of a signal exceeds some 'reality threshold' (Fig. 1A; right -dashed black line), based on the assumption that imagery is generally weaker, or less vivid, than perception 21,22 . Such a model predicts that reality monitoring should be worse in people with more vivid imagery.…”

Section: Determining Whether Something Is Realmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental constraints on distinguishing reality from imagination

Dijkstra¹,

Fleming²

2021

Preprint

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In order to function in complex environments, humans have evolved to move beyond stimulus-triggered responses to guide behaviour via offline simulations, such as imagination and planning. Contemporary generative models of brain function propose that imagination relies on similar neural machinery to that engaged by veridical perception, a hypothesis supported by neuroimaging data. While allowing for a vast increase in cognitive sophistication, the potential for rich offline simulation raises a new problem: how to distinguish reality from imagination. Here we capitalised on the ability to conduct large-scale, one-trial-per-participant psychophysics via online platforms combined with computational modelling to investigate the characteristics and extent of perceptual reality monitoring failures in the general population. We find striking evidence for a subjective intermixing of imagination and reality – congruent visual imagery increases the likelihood a stimulus is judged as real, and reality judgements increase the experienced vividness of imagery. Using neuroimaging, we go on to show that imagery vividness and perceptual visibility are similarly encoded in the brain. These findings are best explained by a simple theoretical model in which internal and external signals are combined and reality monitoring is implemented by evaluating the total strength of this combined signal against a “reality threshold”. A striking consequence of this account is that it predicts when virtual or imagined signals are strong enough, they become indistinguishable from reality.

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“…Here, we get an interesting spread in different forms of offline perception. Mind-wandering, dreaming and hallucination are often taken to be necessarily conscious, but mental imagery can be unconscious and treating it as potentially unconscious has a lot of explanatory advantages [45,46].…”

Section: Varieties Of Offline Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the second paper of the issue, Koenig-Robert & Pearson [46] take up the challenge of exploring what it is that makes mental imagery different from online afferent perception. They focus on three sources of difference: the direction (top-down versus bottom-up) of the flow of information, the targeted cortical layers in primary visual cortex and the neural mechanisms of modulation versus excitation.…”

Section: The Topics Of the Theme Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Offline perception: an introduction

Fazekas

Nánay

Pearson³

2020

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

Self Cite

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Experiences that are self-generated and independent of sensory stimulations permeate our whole life. This theme issue examines their similarities and differences, systematizes the literature from an integrative perspective, critically discusses state-of-the-art empirical findings and proposes new theoretical approaches. The aim of the theme issue is to foster interaction between the different disciplines and research directions involved and to explore the prospects of a unificatory account of offline perception in general. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation’.

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Why do imagery and perception look and feel so different?

Cited by 39 publications

References 83 publications

V1 as an egocentric cognitive map

V1 as an egocentric cognitive map

Fundamental constraints on distinguishing reality from imagination

Offline perception: an introduction

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