Imagination relies on an ability to differentiate between what's real and what's not — and now, scientists have uncovered potential brain mechanisms that make this distinction possible. These, they hypothesize, may be significant in conditions like schizophrenia, which can affect people's perception of reality.
A paper published June 5 in the journal Neuron explored these mechanisms. Scientists know from previous research that a specific brain region — the fusiform gyrus, a large ridge that runs across two lobes of the brain — is active both when you see something in reality and when you imagine something, first study author Nadine Dijkstra, a neuroscientist at University College London, told Live Science.
