Abstract
It is proposed that the human brain is proactive in that it continuously
generates predictions that anticipate the relevant future. In this
proposal, analogies are derived from elementary information that
is extracted rapidly from the input, to link that input with the
representations that exist in memory. Finding an analogical link
results in the generation of focused predictions via associative
activation of representations that are relevant to this analogy,
in the given context. Predictions in complex circumstances, such
as social interactions, combine multiple analogies. Such predictions
need not be created afresh in new situations, but rather rely on
existing scripts in memory, which are the result of real as well
as of previously imagined experiences. This cognitive neuroscience
framework provides a new hypothesis with which to consider the purpose
of memory, and can help explain a variety of phenomena, ranging
from recognition to first impressions, and from the brain's 'default
mode' to a host of mental disorders.
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