Seeing and imagining activate some of the same brain cells

The ability to conjure pictures in the mind’s eye enables us to remember the past and imagine the future. It also allows us to plan, navigate and create works of art. In a study published April 9 in Science, researchers report that imagining an object reactivates some of the same neurons involved in seeing it in the first place, providing new insight into how mental imagery is produced in the brain.

Previous research had hinted that the neurons involved in perceiving and imagining images overlapped. These studies used various methods, such as asking participants to view and then imagine pictures while lying in a functional MRI scanner, to show

→ Continue reading at Science News

More from author

Related posts

Advertisment

Latest posts

Emperor penguins are marching toward extinction. Antarctica fur seals too

Emperor penguins have braved cold, storms, starvation and predation to breed, ensuring their population survives. But climate change might defeat the iconic Antarctic birds....

The Iran war is making life more expensive for Americans

New York —  The war with Iran has roiled Wall Street, driving up the cost of a mortgage along with auto...

Inflation stayed stubbornly high heading into the Iran war, Fed’s preferred gauge shows

Americans kept spending in February — but just enough to keep up with rising prices, new data showed Thursday; however, the Iran war...