(PhysOrg.com) -- New research provides the first evidence that
sensory recalibration the brain's automatic correcting of errors
in our sensory or perceptual systems can occur instantly. "Until
recently, neuroscientists thought of sensory recalibration as a
mechanism that is primarily used for coping with long-term
changes, such as growth during development, brain injury or
stroke," said Ladan Shams, a UCLA assistant professor of
psychology and an expert on perception and cognitive
neuroscience. "It appeared that extensive time, and thus many
repetitions of error, were needed for mechanisms of
recalibration to kick in. However, our findings indicate we
don't need weeks, days, or even minutes or seconds to adapt. To
some degree, we adapt instantaneously. "If recalibration can
occur in milliseconds, as we now think, then we can adapt even
to transient changes in the environment and in our bodies." In
Shams' study, reported in tomorrow's (March 23) issue of the
Journal of Neuroscience, 146 individuals, primarily