How does the brain turn sensory signals into perception?

Perception is the process by which the brain identifies, interprets, and organizes sensory information to represent the environment. Although it relies on physical stimulation of sensory systems, it is not merely passive receipt; it is actively shaped by learning, memory, expectation, and attention. Researchers study perception through various lenses, including psychophysics, sensory neuroscience, and computational approaches.

What we know

• Perception involves the identification, interpretation, and organization of sensory information to represent and understand the environment. [1, 2]
• All perception originates from signals that go through the nervous system, resulting from physical or chemical stimulation of sensory systems. [2]
• Perception is shaped by the recipient's learning, memory, expectation, and attention, operating outside conscious awareness to make processing seem effortless. [2]
• The study of perception has progressed through experimental psychology using techniques like psychophysics, sensory neuroscience, and computational modelling. [2]

Still open

• There is active debate regarding whether perception is an active process of hypothesis testing or whether realistic sensory information is rich enough to make this unnecessary.

Where to go next

• how we knowHow do illusions reveal the brain's perceptual mechanisms?
• compared withHow does Gestalt psychology explain pattern processing?
• what caused itWhat is the relationship between perception and action?
• how it workedHow do neural mechanisms underlie sensory processing?
• the bigger pictureWhat role does perception play in cognitive psychology?
• an unexpected connectionHow does smell strongly influence our sense of taste?Although taste and smell are often thought of as distinct sensory modalities, the modular systems of the brain interact closely so that taste is strongly influenced by smell.

Sources

• [1]perception (Wikidata Q160402) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Perception · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Gestalt psychology · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Ecological psychology · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Cognitive psychology · CC BY-SA 4.0