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Is information theory, or the assumptions that surround it, holding back neuroscience?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2019

Lee de-Wit Open the ORCID record for Lee de-Wit [Opens in a new window] ,
Vebjørn Ekroll ,
Dietrich Samuel Schwarzkopf  and
Johan Wagemans
Lee de-Wit
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3EBUnited Kingdomlhd26@cam.ac.ukhttps://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/lee-de-wit
Vebjørn Ekroll
Affiliation:
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, 5020Bergen, NorwayVebjorn.Ekroll@uib.nohttps://www.uib.no/en/persons/Vebjørn.Ekroll
Dietrich Samuel Schwarzkopf
Affiliation:
School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland1023, New Zealands.schwarzkopf@auckland.ac.nzhttps://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/people/d-schwarzkopf Experimental Psychology, University College London, LondonWC1N 1PJ, United Kingdom
Johan Wagemans
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (K.U. Leuven), B-3000Leuven, Belgiumjohan.wagemans@kuleuven.behttp://www.gestaltrevision.be/en/about-us/principal-investigator
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Abstract

The challenges raised in this article are not with information theory per se, but the assumptions surrounding it. Neuroscience isn't sufficiently critical about the appropriate ‘receiver’ or ‘channel’, focuses on decoding ‘parts’, and often relies on a flawed ‘veridicality’ assumption. If these problematic assumptions were questioned, information theory could be better directed to help us understand how the brain works.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e223
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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References

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