Podcast
Pieter Medendorp - Sensory Integration and Transformation in the brain
A conversation with Pieter Medendorp about sensory integration, perception, action, and how the brain transforms information into behavior without us noticing.
In this conversation
Pieter Medendorp talks about sensory integration and transformation in the brain: how perception and action are coupled, and why our senses shape behavior without us noticing.
Pieter turns a fundamental neuroscience topic into something practical. The way the brain integrates signals can affect therapy, diagnosis, design, and everyday experience.
Central question
How does the brain turn sensory information into coordinated action?
What we cover
- How sensorimotor neuroscience studies the relationship between brain and behavior.
- Why perception and action are computationally coupled.
- How sensory illusions and transformations can inform therapy, diagnosis, and industry.
Guest background
Prof. Pieter Medendorp leads sensorimotor neuroscience work at the Donders Institute and studies the neuro-computational coupling between perception and action.
Things to listen for
- Why the brain has to transform sensory information before it can guide behavior.
- How everyday experience depends on processes we rarely notice.
- Where fundamental neuroscience can become relevant outside the lab.
From sensing to acting
Perception
The brain receives information from multiple senses, each with its own uncertainty and reference frame.
Action
The system has to integrate and transform that information into coordinated movement and behavior.