When something is off: A new study on brains detecting something wrong

Our brains are like detectives that notice when things don't sound right. 

For example, if a door closes differently than expected or a soccer kick doesn't sound as it should, our brains signal that something is off. 

Let's find out more about the research that makes it clear.

Studying our brain detectors

Scientists have been studying how our brains react to these mistakes, and now they've found special brain cells called "prediction-error neurons" that only respond when a sound doesn't match what we anticipated.

These neurons don't react to all sounds, just the unexpected ones, like when a mistake happens. 

David Schneider explains that our brains are excellent at figuring out if things happen as we expect or not. 

These specific neurons help us recognize when something goes wrong.

This discovery can help us understand how we learn and even what causes certain problems. 

It might also help us discover people with unique abilities related to hearing or sound.

Nicholas Audette suggests these neurons could be crucial for learning things like speaking or playing music, where we make lots of mistakes and learn from them. 

Schneider also wonders if professional musicians have better prediction-error neurons than beginners and if these neurons play a role in speech problems.

Animals, including mice, can also learn to predict what sounds will happen when they do something. 

The researchers found that these prediction-error neurons in mice only "wake up" when they hear an unexpected sound during their actions, like pressing a lever.

Conclusion

So, in simple terms, these special brain cells help us notice when things sound wrong, and they might be important for learning and understanding how our brains work.
 

• Related news:
• research
• brain
• sound
• 11 October 2023

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