Dare to challenge your own brain!

Hello, curious brainiacs! Ready to dive into the fascinating world of what goes on in our heads when we interact with others? When we mingle in the social sauce, whether it’s shaking hands or chatting, our brains are the DJ of the party, but what exactly is going on in that little head of yours? Well, our friends at the Netherlands Neuroscience Institute have something juicy to tell us: it seems that what we see from others is more connected to our expectations than to the reality of the matter. Yes, it sounds like a science fiction movie, but it’s pure reality!

We have been trying to figure out how our brain processes the actions of others for quite some time, because when you see someone doing something, areas of your brain light up as if you were performing the action yourself. Previously, we thought that this process followed a specific order: first the visual areas, then the areas we use to move, but our intrepid researchers, led by Christian Keysers, bring us exciting news. If you are watching a series of well-coherent actions, such as preparing breakfast, your brain stops paying so much attention to what your eyes see and relies more on what you expect to happen next. “What we would do next becomes what our brain sees,” Christian, the head of this group, tells us.

To reach this magical-sounding conclusion, the team had the unique opportunity to directly spy on the brain activity of patients with epilepsy. Yes, it sounds like a movie plot, imagine this situation: you are in a hospital bed, waiting like someone waiting for the lottery, and the scientists ask you to watch videos of people doing everyday things. Meanwhile, they stick electrodes in your brain to measure what’s going on in there; in one condition, you see the actions in the natural order (like when you make your morning toast), and in another, they shuffle them like poker cards. Result: the brain behaves differently depending on the trick you play on it!

When actions follow their natural course, information flows from the brain regions that control our own actions to those that describe what we see. But, and here comes the interesting part, when the actions are mixed, the brain does a kind of brain breakdance and changes the choreography! Information flows from the regions that know how we do things to those that control our actions, suppressing what we see with our eyes. It’s as if our brain is saying, “Let me show you how I would do it!”

This discovery is like one more piece in the puzzle of how our brain is not just a spectator, but a master of ceremonies that is always guessing what comes next. Instead of simply reacting to what our senses tell us, we are constantly predicting what is going to happen next; but of course, if what we see does not match our expectations, the blindfold falls off and we see reality for what it is! So now you know, remember that your brain is working overtime to keep you in tune. Until next time, inquiring minds!