ANC Workshop: Frank Karvelis, Chair: Ryan Davies

Frank Karvelis

Title: Is Perceptual Bayesian Inference Impaired in Autism and Schizophrenia?

Abstract: Bayesian brain hypothesis views the brain as an inference machine. Recently, it has been proposed that many of the symptoms that are common to autism (e.g., perceptual abnormalities, hypersensitivities) and schizophrenia (hallucinations and delusions) could be understood as impairments in the inference performed by the brain, with sensory likelihood dominating sensory priors. We are investigating this hypothesis using a visual motion perception task in which participants rapidly acquire priors that subsequently lead to biases and occasional hallucinations. In this talk I will present what we found so far: in autistic and schizotypy traits in the general population, in clinical schizophrenia and in a recently collected sample of clinical autism group.