Sensory experiences are stimuli that enter through our senses - sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell, balance, and proprioception. These inputs are processed by the brain to create an understanding of the external world around us. In order for this process to work efficiently, the brain must filter out irrelevant information and focus on what is most important. This filtering mechanism is called "predictive coding". It works by creating an internal model of the world based on past experience and expectations, and then comparing it to incoming sensory input to determine if it matches. If there is no match, predictive coding adjusts the internal model to better fit the new information.
Cumulative sensory experiences can shape predictive coding in a way that leads to more efficient processing.
A child who grows up in a busy city may have an internal model of the world that includes sounds of traffic and people, which will help them quickly recognize these sounds when they hear them later in life. Phase coherence refers to how different parts of the brain work together to process sensory information. The phase coherence between areas of the brain involved in vision and hearing is thought to be especially important for recognizing faces and voices. Cumulative sensory experiences can also shape phase coherence, as repeated exposure to certain features (such as facial features) can increase connectivity between visual and auditory areas of the brain.
Functional connectivity refers to the strength of connections between different regions of the brain. Cumulative sensory experiences can influence the development of functional connectivity over time, as the brain adapts its network to better handle specific types of input.
Someone who spends a lot of time playing music may develop stronger connections between auditory and motor regions of the brain. In summary, cumulative sensory experiences play a crucial role in shaping predictive coding, phase coherence, and functional connectivity during high-intensity input. This helps us understand why some people are better at certain tasks than others, and can inform interventions aimed at improving cognitive abilities.
How do cumulative sensory experiences shape predictive coding, phase coherence, and functional connectivity during high-intensity input?
The human brain uses prior knowledge to make sense of new information, such as recognizing faces based on previous experience or predicting the taste of food before tasting it. This is called 'predictive coding', which involves comparing incoming sensory data with stored representations of prior expectations to infer what is happening in the world around us. Cumulative sensory experiences can shape how we form these predictions by altering our existing expectations for different situations.