Imagery - 3

Perception and Imagery is

not the same thing, but some brain area processes are overlap

Perception starts at

the sense and then moves up

[image → visual receiving area → high visual area → memory storage]

Imagery starts at

the brain as memory and then moves down

The overlapping area can explain why imagining things is

similar to real perception

Brain lesion studies confirm this differences

• some case cause deficit in imagery but not actual perception

• some other cases cause deficit in actual perception but not imagery

Lesion in Patient C.K.

lesion to the “what pathway”

Patient C.K. can’t recognize

object

when ask Patient C.K. to draw a picture of a dog

He could draw it using his mind (imaging the dog), but couldn’t recognize those same image that he drew

In conclusion: many brain processes that are normally involved in perception also

help you imagine those same thing

In conclusion: but there are also differences between imagery and the real thing

Summarized by a different bottom-up vs. top-down balance