Your brain is constantly making predictions about the world and your place in reality

Ever noticed how you catch a falling glass before it even registers that it’s slipping? That’s because your brain is constantly making predictions, keeping you one step ahead of reality.

As difficult as it may be to believe, our minds don’t just process what’s happening — they anticipate what’s about to happen next.

This intriguing concept comes from researchers Christian Keysers and Valeria Gazzola of the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, along with Giorgia Silani from the University of Vienna.

Their collaborative work delves into how our brains enable us to react swiftly in everyday situations, challenging the old notion that we simply process information as it comes.

How humans react in space and time

Traditional views suggested that our brains function like cameras, taking in visual information and then deciding how to respond. But that process would be too slow for split-second reactions.

“Your brain doesn’t react to what entered the eye — but it predicts what will happen, based on expectations and previous experiences. By doing so, our actions keep pace with the ball, despite the hundreds of milliseconds it takes the brain to process visual input and move our body,” Christian Keysers explains.

The human mind actually plans ahead to allow time to execute the action and catch the ball. The image that enters through your eyes is mainly used to check if your expectations match reality.

“Only when there’s a difference between your expectation and what you see, your brain uses the visual input to nudge its expectations in a more accurate direction,” Keysers continued.

Mirror neurons help with brain predictions

This predictive ability isn’t limited to our own actions; it extends to understanding others as well.

Valeria Gazzola points out, “What’s interesting is that you also use your own motor programs and somatosensory cortices to predict the actions of others.”

Think about lifting a carton of milk.

“When you perform a physical action, like lifting a carton of milk to pour some of it into your coffee, you have expectations about the weight of the carton, and how it should feel in your hand when you start lifting it,” Gazzola says. “You don’t really notice the weight of the carton consciously, because your brain predicted it.”

However, if someone else already finished the milk, and the carton is so much lighter than you expected, the sudden difference between your expectations and the sensory feedback suddenly grabs your attention.

When watching someone else perform an action, we use similar predictive processes. So, you still feel surprised if the carton flies skywards much faster than you expected.

“We think this has to do with so-called mirror neurons, which are cells within your own motor cortex that become active when you see someone else perform an action,” Gazzola notes.

This acts as a sort of ‘shortcut,’ allowing you to use your own motor programs, and the predictive machinery necessary for your own actions to predict the behavior of others.

Understanding emotions through prediction

Predicting emotions follows a similar pattern. We know that regions in our brain that are involved in our own emotions become active while we witness the emotions of others. However, how we predict the emotions of others is not fully understood.

“Reviewing the literature revealed that the regions in our brain that are active when we receive reward or punishment also become active when someone else receives reward or punishment. Reward and punishment are therefore valuable predictors for the emotions of others,” Gazzola continued.

Brain prediction and repetition

Christian Keysers offers an example to illustrate how our brains adjust expectations.

“Imagine I have a button, and every time I press it, an actor starts screaming in pain. If I do this five times, your expectations change: the first time, it’s totally unexpected, but by the fifth time, you can predict what’s going to happen,” Keysers explained.

According to the traditional theory of perception, where the brain only processes the image you see, you should see the same reaction in the brain each time.

However, if the outside world primarily serves to test your predictions, you’d expect a strong brain response the first time, and a much smaller response the last time, because you already know what’s going to happen.

What’s really happening in our brains?

“Over many studies we see that it’s quite complex,” Keysers says. “Some brain areas maintain consistent responses while others change their activity patterns across repeated exposures.”

The research reveals how brain systems form a predictive network. When actions become familiar, the premotor cortex anticipates movements and suppresses visual processing.

“What you perceive is then no longer what you actually see, but what you expect to see,” Keysers explains. Unexpected events disrupt this system.

“Only if something unexpected happens, this inhibition becomes ineffective,” Keysers adds. Visual areas then activate strongly and send signals to update the premotor cortex’s predictions.

Autism and brain prediction

The predictive system isn’t perfect, and variations in how it functions can have significant effects. The researchers suggest that in people with autism, this system may be less fine-tuned.

“This makes the world around them more unpredictable, leading to less suppressed stimuli,” Keysers explains. The brain normally filters out predictable background activity.

In a crowded room, however, most people can focus on important signals while ignoring the chaos. But when prediction fails, even ordinary environments overwhelm the senses.

Understanding these mechanisms is crucial, not just for neuroscience but also for developing better support for those with neurological differences.

Deeper understanding of the human mind

To sum it all up, understanding that our brains are constantly making predictions adds a whole new dimension to how we experience life. It’s not just about processing what’s right in front of us; it’s about anticipating what’s coming next.

This predictive power allows us to catch a ball without thinking or notice when something feels off, like a milk carton that’s unexpectedly light.

“The brain is complex and has the unique ability to adapt,” Keysers reflects. “It’s interesting to realize that your brain isn’t just a camera simply processing what comes in. Instead, your brain constantly operates based on predictions. Your brain is always ahead and continuously constructs what the world should be.”

Realizing how our minds are always a step ahead helps us appreciate the complexity of our everyday actions. It also highlights why some people might find the world overwhelming when this system doesn’t work the same way.

Isn’t it fascinating how much goes on without us even being aware of it? Our brains are very busy, to say the least, always staying one step ahead of what we think is real.

The full study was published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

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