Why world seems normal only when we move forward

A new study has revealed that moving forward guides the brain to perceive the world normally and moving backwards feels unnatural.

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) studied that how brain maps develop to help people perceive the world and found that that the relationship between neurons in the eye and the brain was more complicated than previously thought, in fact, the order in which people see things could help the brain calibrate how they perceive time, as well as the objects around them.

Previous studies had shown that people use the visual system to create an internal map of the world. The key to creating this map was sensing the "optic flow" of objects as we walk or drive forward.

This discovery challenges a rule in neuroscience that dates back to 1949. Until now, researchers knew it was important that neighboring neurons fired at roughly the same time, but didn't realize that the temporal sequence of firing was important.

The new study adds the element of order. The researchers showed that objects moving from front to back in the visual field activated retinal cells in a specific sequence.

This link between time and space in the visual system might also apply to hearing and the sense of touch. The original question of how the visual system gets "tuned" over time might be applicable across the entire brain.

This research could have implications for treating sensory processing disorders such as autism.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.