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How the Brain Distinguishes Memories From Perceptions

The Quanta Podcast

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The Hierarchy of Memory

Researchers created a model of the visual cortex that had different levels of neurons with receptive fields of increasing size. They then simulated an evoked memory by sending a signal through the levels in reverse order. The spatial blurriness seen in the level with the largest receptive field persisted through all the rest. One theory about why the visual system is arranged hierarchically is that it helps with object recognition.

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