Perception Archives - Knowing Neurons

Cartoon showing unhappy person with pause symbol versus happy people with fast forward symbol

Vincent A Medina May 23, 2023May 21, 2023 animals, cognitive science, Consciousness, Disease, Perception, Time

How does understanding time perception help us advance cognitive science?

by Vincent A. Medina We have all experienced time flying when we are happy and having fun. Conversely, everyone knows how slowly time can drag on when we feel bored… Read More

Sensation and Perception

Anastasiia Gryshyna January 24, 2023January 24, 2023 Antibodies, Chronic Pain, Hyperalgesia, Hypersensitivity, Injury, LTP, nanoparticles, nanotechnology, Nociception, Pain, Perception

The Mystery of Chronic Pain: When your body goes past the “Ouch!”

By Anastasiia Gryshyna Have you ever wondered why some of us have chronic pain while others do not? Most of us have experienced the awful sensation when you burn your… Read More

Learning and Memory Neuroscience Technologies Sensation and Perception

Jasreen Singh December 6, 2022December 15, 2022 Alpha waves, Binaural beats, brain waves, EEG rhythms, entrainment, Gamma waves, Perception, phase synchronization

Binaural Beats for Behavior Modulation and Brainwave Entrainment

By Jasreen Singh What are binaural beats? Have you ever heard something that wasn’t actually there? Perhaps you were listening to an auditory illusion known as binaural beats. A binaural… Read More

Neuroscience Art Big Ideas Brain Basics Sensation and Perception

James Cole June 21, 2022June 21, 2022 aesthetic, audience, Awareness, Emotion, literary, neuroaesthetics, Perception, poetry, Sound

Innate Interpretations: Poetry and the Brain

Written by James Cole “It is a test [that] genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” T.S. Eliot A couple years ago I found myself in perhaps one of… Read More

Sensation and Perception

Lisa-Ruth Vial April 20, 2022April 20, 2022 flavor, gustatory, Olfaction, Perception, Sensation, taste, Touch

Have you ever touched a flavor?

The multisensory perception of taste Starting when we are little children, the role of food in our lives is crucial. The act of sharing a meal is something so universally… Read More

Big Ideas Language Philosophy Sensation and Perception

Zoe Dobler August 2, 2021October 18, 2021 Color, Color Vision, language, native language, Perception, Vision

50 Shades of Green – How Language Shapes our Color Perception

While writing this article, I am lying in the grass, which is as green as the caipirinha I am drinking under the blue sky. This sounds great, doesn’t it? I’m… Read More

Neuroscience Technologies

Ana Sousa September 12, 2020September 14, 2020 Motor cortex, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Perception, Schizophrenia, tES, transcranial electrical stimulation, transcranial random noise stimulation, tRNS

Shining Light on An Innovative Brain Stimulation Technique

How cool would it be to have the ability to move someone else’s hand? Perhaps we could make our friends do some tasks for us or we could make kids… Read More

Feature image depicting a brain in the center of a circle with a visual illusion background. On the left is a hand, palm up, holding a heart. On the right, another hand is tentatively reaching out to grab it. Designed by Alexa Erdogan.

Philosophy Big Ideas Culture Sensation and Perception

McKenna Becker April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 Bias, Blind spot, Cognition, Empathy, Illusion, Neuroplasticity, Optic nerve, Perception, philosophy, Photoreceptor, Politics, R.L. Gregory, Reality, Retina, Stroop Test, Top-Down Processing, V.S. Ramachandran, Visual Illusions

Understanding Visual Illusions Can Make Us More Empathetic

Philosophers and neuroscientists agree that if there is an objective reality, human beings can’t perceive it: philosophers refer to objective reality as a perception independent of any conscious awareness. Neuroscientists… Read More

Brain Books by Knowing Neurons. The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett & Jooyeun Lee.

Brain Books Big Ideas Consciousness Evolution of Cognition Sensation and Perception

Joel Frohlich December 6, 2019December 7, 2019 Brain Books, Cognition, Color, Consciousness, Evolution, Evolutionary Game Theory, Hallucination, hard problem of consciousness, Illusion, Interface Theory of Perception, mathematics, Motion, Necker Cube, Occam's Razor, Orientation, Perception, Physicalism, Psychology, Quantum mechanics

Book Review and Author Interview: The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman

A full interview with Donald Hoffman follows this book review Does the moon still exist when you’re not looking at it? In a provocative new book titled The Case Against… Read More

Illustration of deep neural networks by Michal Roessler.

Artificial Intelligence Learning and Memory Sensation and Perception

Ioannis Kalfas November 7, 2018November 7, 2018 AI, convolutional neural network, deep learning, Deep neural network, Electrophysiology, inferotemporal cortex, Learning, Machine Learning, neural network, Perception, regression, visual system

How our Visual Neurons relate to Deep Neural Networks

Our brain has been evolving for millions of years, ever-changing and adjusting to handle novel stimuli and conditions, looking like a bag of slimy, gooey matter folded in various ways… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber June 18, 2018June 14, 2018 Fact, Neuron, Neuroscience, Perception, Science, Vision

Weird Animal Brain: Dung Beetle

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he dung beetle has more interesting characteristics than you might think! If you’d like to learn about more animals with amazing vision, check out this article.… Read More

Neuro Primer Brain Basics Consciousness

Sean Noah May 31, 2018March 3, 2019 Attention, Brain, Brain Basics, Consciousness, Focus, Perception, Vision

Neuro Primer: Attention

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]magine suffering through a 2pm class on a sweltering day in early June. Summer’s almost arrived, and it’s hard not to let your mind wander away from the dull information… Read More

Sensation and Perception Brain Basics

Jenn Tribble April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 circadian rhythm, David Eagleman, Dopamine, Einstein, emotional state, five senses, Perception, Sensation, stress, temporal pattern, Time

Tick, Tock: Your Brain’s Inner Clock

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]ime: one syllable, four letters, but one of the nebulous constructs of our world. Many bright scholars and philosophers have attempted to understand time as a primary sense, including Albert… Read More

Brain Basics Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Jenn Tribble January 24, 2018January 23, 2018 Brain, Dopamine, GABA, glutamate, Network, Neuron, Neurons, neurotransmitter, Perception, Receptor, serotonin, Synapse

Neuronal Communication: Electricity and Neurotransmitters

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain, it is a complex piece of machinery in charge of movement, sensation, decision-making, and more. Behaviors cannot arise from the work… Read More

Consciousness Learning and Memory Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Yaïr Pinto January 10, 2018January 10, 2018 Consciousness, Gazzaniga, Learning, Memory, Neuroscience, Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Research, Sperry, Split brain

When You Split the Brain, Do You Split the Person?

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he brain is perhaps the most complex machine in the Universe. It consists of two cerebral hemispheres, each with many different modules. Fortunately, all these separate parts are not autonomous… Read More

Sensation and Perception Learning and Memory Neuroscience Technologies Sleep

Sophie Fessl December 21, 2017December 21, 2017 Alpha waves, bayer, Binaural beats, brain waves, digital drugs, EEG rhythms, entrainment, Gamma waves, monaural beat, Perception, phase synchronization

How Binaural Beats Affect Your Brain – and How They Don’t

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he beat is low and steady – but it’s all just in my head… While I’m sitting on my couch, listening to some smooth jazz, there is a faint beat… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber November 27, 2017December 18, 2017 Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Nature, Perception, Weird Animal Brain

Weird Animal Brain: Leaf Sheep Sea Slug

Remember photosynthesis: How plants capture energy from the sun. Chloroplasts (the green parts of leaves) are where the sun’s energy is captured.… Read More

Consciousness Big Ideas Philosophy

Chris Frith September 29, 2017October 6, 2017 agency, choice, Consciousness, Epicurus, Free Will, Illusion, Mopan Maya, morality, Perception, philosophy, stoic

Our Illusory Sense of Agency Has a Deeply Important Social Purpose

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]’m trying to concentrate on writing this piece, but my two grandchildren in the room next door have stopped making paper aeroplanes and started arguing. ‘You kicked me,’ yells Freya.… Read More

Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Brain Basics Brain Development Sensation and Perception

Joel Frohlich September 20, 2017March 21, 2022 Anesthesia, Antidepressant, Antipsychotic drugs, Brain, cognitie symptoms, depression, Dissociation, Dopamine, glutamate, Ketamine, negative symptoms, neurotransmitter, PCP, Perception, phencyclidine, positive symptoms, Schizophrenia, Sensation, Synaptic Connections

Schizophrenia in a Vial? The Story of Ketamine

Note: Ketamine is a controlled substance in the US and many other countries. Do not use ketamine illicitly. [dropcap]I[/dropcap]magine an injection that briefly gives you schizophrenia. Now imagine that this… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber September 18, 2017September 17, 2017 Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Lizard, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Science, Vision

Weird Animal Brain: Tuatara Lizard

The tuatara lizard is called a “living fossil” because it is the last surviving member of the Rhynchocephalia order. Learn more about the tuatara in the infographic below!… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber August 28, 2017August 30, 2017 Brain, Color, Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Squid, Vision

Weird Animal Brain: Strawberry Squid

Also known as the cock-eyed squid, this beautiful and weird creature is unique not only because of its similarities to a strawberry, but also because of its two very special… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber August 7, 2017August 7, 2017 Brain, Drosophila, Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Nature, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Receptor, Science, Smell, Synapse, taste

Weird Animal Brain: Fly

Fly lips are called labellum and fly feet are called tarsi. Both the labellum and tarsi contain taste receptors which help the fly find food. Think about that the next… Read More

Neuroscience Technologies Big Ideas Neuroscience Art Sensation and Perception

Alexa Erdogan August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 Brain, CLARITY, Cortex, EEG, Fact, fMRI, Greg Dunn, Interview, Knowing Neurons, MRI, Neuroimaging, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Research, Science

How Neuroimaging Changes Our View of Science & Humanity

Magritte’s comments on our fascination with the unknown rings true not just in artistic surrealism, but also in many of our scientific research endeavors. The human mind is continually fascinated… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber July 24, 2017July 23, 2017 Brain, Color, Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Nature, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Research, Science, Vision

Weird Animal Brain: Brittle Star

Brittle stars are covered in protective outer plates, but they also have another structure of internal plates. A particular species of brittle star seems to be able to use these… Read More

Neuroscience Art Did You Know?Interviews Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber July 19, 2017July 16, 2017 Art, Brain, Color, Consciousness, Cortex, Genetics, Interview, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Prefrontal Cortex, Science

Self Reflected: The Best of Neuroscience and Art

The phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” seems especially true for scientists. What we study becomes not only intellectually beautiful, but also literally beautiful: the form is… Read More

Did You Know?Weird Animal Brain

Kayleen Schreiber July 10, 2017April 17, 2023 Antenna, Brain, Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Nature, Neuron, Neurons, Perception, Science, Smell

Weird Animal Brain: Moth

These beautiful little creatures are incredibly skilled at sniffing out mates. The pheromone the females release is called bombykol. Scientists are on the hunt for exactly how this pheromone activates… Read More

Consciousness Big Ideas Philosophy Sensation and Perception

DanielToker June 28, 2017September 24, 2017 Brain in a Vat, Consciousness, Gilbert Harmanm, Hallucination, Illusion, Perception, Rene Descartes, The Matrix

We Are All Brains in Vats

The Matrix made all of us ask the same disturbing questions: How do I know that the world I see, hear, and touch is real? Can I prove that I’m… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Movement Neuroscience Art Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber June 26, 2017June 30, 2017 Brain, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Perception, Platypus, Receptor

Weird Animal Brain: Platypus

The platypus and the echidna are the only mammals that have the power of electroreception, which means they can sense electrical changes. Check out this new Weird Animal Brain to… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Movement Neuroscience Art Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber June 12, 2017June 30, 2017 Brain, Development, Infographic, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Ocean, Perception, Receptor, Sea Squirt

Weird Animal Brain: Sea Squirt

The brain is one of the most complex and amazing structures in the universe. It allows us to experience the world, feel, remember, and plan for the future. But for… Read More

Interviews Big Ideas Did You Know?

Kate Fehlhaber May 24, 2017June 30, 2017 Brain, Conversation, Future, Interview, Kate Fehlhaber, Neuroscience, Perception, Podcast, SciComm, Spinning Logic, STEM, Vision, Women

Spinning Logic

I had the opportunity to speak with Jason Havey, host of the Spinning Logic podcast! And it was a blast!!… Read More

Neuroscience Technologies Brain Basics Brain Development Did You Know?Learning and Memory Neuro News Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber March 15, 2017June 30, 2017 2017, Alzheimer’s disease, Brain, Conference, Development, Fact, Florida, Infographic, Institute, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Max Planck, Memory, Neuron, Neuroscience, Perception, Receptor, Research, Science, Sunposium, Synapse

How does fundamental research help you?

Sometimes it’s hard to understand why scientists do what they do. Why spend a career studying cells, fungus, or flies? Other than being nerdy and wanting to learn about our… Read More

Sensation and Perception Did You Know?

Megumi Sano February 8, 2017June 30, 2017 Antenna, Chemosensation, Drosophila, Flies, Fruit fly, GFP, Glomerulus, Green fluorescent protein, gustatory, Labial Palp, Leslie Vosshall, Maxillary Palp, microbiome, Mosquito, Mosquitoes, Multimodal Sensory Integration, Odor, Odorant, Olfaction, olfactory, Perception, Proboscis, Sense, Sensilla, Sensory, SEZ, Smell, subesophageal zone, taste

Why Mosquitoes Love Us

From that evil itch on your arm to torturous diseases such as malaria, Zika, dengue, and yellow fever, mosquito bites can have unpleasant consequences. But have you ever wondered why… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Movement Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber January 9, 2017June 5, 2019 Brain, Fact, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Octopus, Perception, Weird Animal Brain

Weird Animal Brain: Octopus

The octopus almost reaches alien status when it comes to its brain and nervous system. And yet, the differences can help us understand more about the human brain as well… Read More

Interviews Sensation and Perception

Kate Fehlhaber November 9, 2016June 30, 2017 Brain, Forensic, Interview, Memory, Neuroscience 2016, Neuroscientist, Next Generation Award, Perception, Salk, San Diego, Science, SfN, SfN16, Society for Neuroscience, Tom Albright, Vision

Is Seeing Believing? A Conversation with Tom Albright

What does eye-witness identification have to do with neuroscience? A lot, actually.… Read More

Weird Animal Brain Did You Know?Sensation and Perception

Kayleen Schreiber October 31, 2016June 30, 2017 Brain, Electricity, Fact, Head, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Lorenzini, Neuroscience, Organ, Perception, Receptor, Research, Science, Sense, Shark

Weird animal brain: Sharks

Everyone knows sharks are fierce predators. How exactly they hunt so well is in part due to their extra sixth sense: electroreception!… Read More

Sensation and Perception Did You Know?

Kate Fehlhaber September 28, 2016June 30, 2017 Acuity, Blind, Cat, Cataracts, Color, Critical Period, Deprivation, Development, Hubel, Illusion, Kitten, Light, Monocular, Oversegementation, Perception, Perceptual, Project Prakash, See, Sight, synaptic plasticity, Touch, Vision, Visual, Visual cortex, Wiesel

When the blind can see again: A critical question of perception

Our sense of sight is arguably our most important sense. Imagine how different your life would be if soon after birth, you lost the ability to see. For over 1.4… Read More

Feature image of a brain with a circle pulsating from the center, to symbolically describe synesthesia.

Sensation and Perception Did You Know?

Kayleen Schreiber September 13, 2016June 5, 2019 Audition, auditory, Brain, Color, Colors, Dendrite, Hear, Hearing, Mix, Mixed, Music, Perception, See, Sense, Senses, Sight, Synesthesia, Vision

What is Synesthesia?

Have you ever wondered if you experience the world like everyone else? We assume that our senses tell us what’s going on in the world, but they’re far from perfect.… Read More

52 Brain Facts Popular Articles

knowingneurons March 7, 2016March 23, 2016 52 Brain Facts, Frontal lobe, Olfaction, olfactory, Olfactory Bulb, Perception, Psychopath, Smell

Myth or Fact? Many psychopaths have a poor sense of smell.

Artificial Intelligence Did You Know?Learning and Memory

Joel Frohlich December 9, 2015July 10, 2017 Associative memory, Fusiform face area, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Hopfield network, Inkblot, Magnetoencephalogram, MEG, MRI, pareidolia, Perception, Positive feedback, Rorschach

The Doors of Perception

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite.” – William Blake The friendly headlamps and grill of a car. A sly electrical… Read More

52 Brain Facts

knowingneurons November 30, 2015 52 Brain Facts, Past, Perception, Time, Vision

Myth or Fact? Axonal conduction delays and processing time prevent us from experiencing the world in "real time."

Brain Basics Sensation and Perception

Joel Frohlich September 30, 2015June 29, 2022 Color, Color Vision, Cone, Cones, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Green, Mars, NASA, Opponent Process Theory, Perception, Pluto, Tetrachromat, Trichromatic, Vision

Seeing Invisible Colors: Part II

In a recent Knowing Neurons piece, we explored the exotic visual abilities of other animals, while lamenting the limitations of human color vision. In this article, we stretch those limits… Read More

Brain Basics Sensation and Perception

Joel Frohlich July 1, 2015March 5, 2017 Blue, Cataract, Color, Cone, Eye, Frank Jackson, Gene therapy, Green, Lens, Light, Mantis Shrimp, Perception, Photoreceptor, Red, Retina, Ultraviolet, UV, Vision

Seeing Invisible Colors

What would the world be like without color? Imagine you are a neurophysiologist, who studies color perception. You know that light is a wave and that humans perceive color according… Read More

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception

Kate Fehlhaber July 23, 2014March 5, 2017 Brain, Corpus callosum, Fibers, Hemisphere, Key, Key-Ring, language, Left, Nerves, Optic Chiasm, Perception, Right, Ring, Roger Sperry, See, Split brain, Vision

The Split Brain: Making Two Hemispheres Whole

Admit it! You’ve taken one of those online quizzes to see if you’re more “right-brained” or “left-brained.” Too bad it’s all bunk! Popular culture would have you believe that… Read More