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The Bayesian-Laplacian Brain

Zeki, S; Chén, OY; (2020) The Bayesian-Laplacian Brain. European Journal of Neuroscience , 51 (6) pp. 1441-1462. 10.1111/ejn.14540. Green open access

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Abstract

We outline what we believe could be an improvement in future discussions of the brain acting as a Bayesian‐Laplacian system. We do so by distinguishing between two broad classes of priors on which the brain's inferential systems operate: in one category are biological priors (β priors) and in the other artifactual ones (α priors). We argue that β priors, of which colour categories and faces are good examples, are inherited or acquired very rapidly after birth, are highly or relatively resistant to change through experience, and are common to all humans. The consequence is that the probability of posteriors generated from β priors having universal assent and agreement is high. By contrast, α priors, of which man‐made objects are examples, are acquired post‐natally and modified at various stages throughout post‐natal life; they are much more accommodating of, and hospitable to, new experiences. Consequently, posteriors generated from them are less likely to find universal assent. Taken together, in addition to the more limited capacity of experiment and experience to alter the β priors compared to α priors, another cardinal distinction between the two is that the probability of posteriors generated from β priors having universal agreement is greater than that for α priors. The two categories are distinct at the extremes; there is, however, a middle range where they merge into one another to varying extents, resulting in posteriors that draw upon both categories.

Type: Article
Title: The Bayesian-Laplacian Brain
Location: France
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14540
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.14540
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Bayesian brain operations, aesthetic experiences, artifactual priors, biological priors, colour vision
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Cell and Developmental Biology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10079658
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