A leaky evidence accumulation process for perceptual experience

Published on April 3, 2022

Our understanding of how the brain perceives the world around us is still a mystery. However, recent research has shed light on the fascinating process of evidence accumulation (EA) that plays a role in our perceptual experiences. Imagine this process as a dance, where the brain accumulates evidence to form perceptions. But here’s the twist – this dance is not static. Perceptions fade in and out of consciousness like the graceful movements of a ballet dancer. This phenomenon, known as the leaky evidence accumulation process (LEAP), suggests that our percepts are constantly changing based on the dynamics of this process. And what about confidence? Well, it turns out that confidence corresponds to the maximum amount of evidence accumulated during this dynamic dance. This research opens up exciting possibilities for uncovering the neural correlates of perception and understanding how our experiences shape our reality.

The neural correlates supporting our perceptual experience of the world remain largely unknown. Recent studies have shown how stimulus detection and related confidence involve evidence accumulation (EA) processes similar to those involved in perceptual decision-making. Here, we propose that independently from any tasks, percepts are not static but fade in and out of consciousness according to the dynamics of a leaky evidence accumulation process (LEAP), and that confidence corresponds to the maximal evidence accumulated by this process.

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