Researchers have discovered that our perception of others' actions relies more on our expectations rather than just what we see.
Previous discoveries suggested that our brains process actions in a specific order, from visual regions to motor regions, to understand what other individuals are doing.
However, the scientists discovered that when actions are seen in meaningful sequences, our brains rely increasingly on predictions derived from our own motor system.
How it was detected
The study involved measuring brain activity directly from epilepsy patients using electrodes implanted under the skull.
These patients were in a period of waiting during their hospital stay, providing a unique opportunity for research.
The experiment involved participants watching videos of daily actions and measuring their brain activity.
The results showed that when people viewed actions in their natural sequence, their brain activity changed significantly, with info flowing from premotor regions to the parietal cortex and suppressing activity in their visual cortex.
Why it's important
This finding supports the idea that our brains are predictive and constantly anticipate what comes next, suppressing expected sensory input.
However, when our own expectations are violated, this suppression fails, and then we become aware of the actual sensory input.
