How a macaque's brain knows it's swinging
Thursday, April 21, 2016 - 13:30
in Biology & Nature
Any organism with a brain needs to make decisions about how it's going to navigate through three-dimensional spaces. That's why animals evolved sensory organs in the ears to detect if they're rotating or moving in a straight line. But how does an animal perceive curved motion, as in turning a corner? One explanation is that curved motion is detected when sensory neurons in the brain receiving converging information about linear and rotational movement are activated.