Ep44 "Why can't you tickle yourself?" (Time Traveling Part 2)
Jan 29, 2024
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The podcast explores the brain's capacity for simulating possible futures and how it shapes our lives. Topics discussed include why we can't tickle ourselves, the challenges individuals with schizophrenia face in predicting their own actions, and the role of prediction in decision-making and the natural world. The ability of animals to engage in mental time travel, the relationship between memory and imagination in prediction making, and the power of science and storytelling in predicting the future are also explored.
Simulation of possible futures is an energy-efficient and low-risk decision-making process that relies on the brain's ability to construct internal models and predictions.
Memory serves as a foundation for simulation, providing past experiences to construct possible future scenarios and impairments in memory affect our ability to imagine new experiences.
The brain's predictive network, which includes several interconnected regions, allows us to construct relevant future scenarios based on current needs and goals, contributing to our evolutionary success as a species.
Deep dives
Simulation of Future: Fundamental Function of the Brain
The brain dedicates a significant amount of time to simulating possible futures, allowing for energy efficiency and decreased risk. This capability is rooted in the brain's ability to construct internal models and its reliance on memory. Memory and simulation are closely linked, as memories serve as building blocks for future scenarios. Prediction is a key aspect of simulation, enabling faster responses and risk assessment. The brain's predictive abilities rely on the same network of regions for both remembering the past and imagining the future. However, our ability to predict the future accurately is limited by our reliance on past experiences and our tendency to assume that the future will be a simple extension of the present.
Simulation for Energy Efficiency and Risk Assessment
Simulation of possible futures is energy-efficient and less risky compared to physically testing every action. By mentally simulating different scenarios, we can evaluate their potential outcomes without expending physical effort or encountering potential dangers. This process allows us to make informed decisions and plan actions effectively. Simulation also plays a crucial role in assessing and mitigating risks, enabling us to anticipate potential harm and choose alternative courses of action. Through simulation, the brain prioritizes efficiency and safety in decision-making.
Memory and Simulation: Key Ingredients in Predictive Abilities
Memory serves as a foundation for simulation, providing the brain with past experiences to construct possible future scenarios. Our ability to predict and simulate the future relies on an interconnected network of brain regions, including the hippocampus, prefrontal areas, and parietal lobes. This network is involved in both remembering the past and imagining the future. Damage to the hippocampus impairs both memory and the ability to imagine new experiences. Memories act as specific simulations, while simulation itself is a broader concept that encompasses a range of potential future scenarios. The brain's predictive abilities are limited by its reliance on past experiences and its tendency to assume continuity.
The Brain's Predictive Network
The brain has a core network of areas involved in prospection (seeing ahead) that construct relevant scenarios based on current needs and goals. These areas include the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which connects to emotion-related areas and guides scenario construction; the pre-cuneus, which maps the locations of things in space and contributes to spatial context in imagined scenarios; the temporal-parietal junction, which detects relevant events; the superior temporal sulcus, which helps interpret social cues; and the hippocampus, which is crucial for tying together activity in other brain areas to construct rich and coherent imaginary experiences.
The Brain Craves Predictability
The brain craves predictability due to energy efficiency. It uses predictions to conserve neural energy by avoiding surprise and allocating attention only to necessary events. When predictions are inaccurate, the brain adjusts its predictions through the detection of prediction errors. The brain's craving for predictability is reflected in our aversion to the unpredictable, whether it's a dripping faucet, unexpected changes, or uncertain future events. Humans possess the ability to make accurate predictions by practicing science, but storytelling also plays a crucial role. Stories allow us to experience possible futures, expanding our mental space beyond our limited experiences and improving our ability to outthink other species. The brain's predictive network and the power of storytelling have contributed to the evolutionary success of humans as a species.
Why are people who can't remember their past also unable to picture their future? Why do we get so anxious about the world changing around us? What should you advise the president if we find ourselves at war with extraterrestrials? And what does this have to do with Wayne Gretzky, or the Greek goddess of memory, or hitting a bottle to get ketchup onto your French fries? Join this week's episode to find out about one of the most important things brains do: simulations of possible futures.
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