TY - JOUR
T1 - When the world becomes 'too real'
T2 - a Bayesian explanation of autistic perception
AU - Pellicano, Elizabeth
AU - Burr, David
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - Perceptual experience is influenced both by incoming sensory information and prior knowledge about the world, a concept recently formalised within Bayesian decision theory. We propose that Bayesian models can be applied to autism - a neurodevelopmental condition with atypicalities in sensation and perception - to pinpoint fundamental differences in perceptual mechanisms. We suggest specifically that attenuated Bayesian priors - 'hypo-priors' - may be responsible for the unique perceptual experience of autistic people, leading to a tendency to perceive the world more accurately rather than modulated by prior experience. In this account, we consider how hypo-priors might explain key features of autism - the broad range of sensory and other non-social atypicalities - in addition to the phenomenological differences in autistic perception.
AB - Perceptual experience is influenced both by incoming sensory information and prior knowledge about the world, a concept recently formalised within Bayesian decision theory. We propose that Bayesian models can be applied to autism - a neurodevelopmental condition with atypicalities in sensation and perception - to pinpoint fundamental differences in perceptual mechanisms. We suggest specifically that attenuated Bayesian priors - 'hypo-priors' - may be responsible for the unique perceptual experience of autistic people, leading to a tendency to perceive the world more accurately rather than modulated by prior experience. In this account, we consider how hypo-priors might explain key features of autism - the broad range of sensory and other non-social atypicalities - in addition to the phenomenological differences in autistic perception.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866562603&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.tics.2012.08.009
DO - 10.1016/j.tics.2012.08.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 22959875
AN - SCOPUS:84866562603
SN - 1364-6613
VL - 16
SP - 504
EP - 510
JO - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
JF - Trends in Cognitive Sciences
IS - 10
ER -