Feature Neuroscience

Bayesian reasoning implicated in some mental disorders

An 18th century math theorem may help explain some people's processing flaws

Bayesian brains

MISGUIDED MATH  English clergyman Thomas Bayes formulated a way to calculate the likelihood of an event based on prior knowledge. Bad Bayesian reasoning could be why perceptions of reality get muddled in people with certain mental disorders.

M. Telfer

By Laura Sanders

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Neuroscience

  1. woman inside wearing mask
    Neuroscience

    Lonely brains crave people like hungry brains crave food

    By Bethany Brookshire
  2. hallucinogenic mushrooms
    Neuroscience

    Psilocybin may help treat depression, a small study finds

    By Laura Sanders
  3. illustration of plasma cells
    Health & Medicine

    Protecting the brain from infection may start with a gut reaction

    By Aayushi Pratap
  4. Biogen headquarters
    Neuroscience

    FDA advisory panel declines to support a controversial Alzheimer’s treatment

    By Laura Sanders
  5. Neogobius melanostomus
    Animals

    A fish’s fins may be as sensitive to touch as fingertips

    By Carolyn Wilke
  6. preserved nerve cells
    Anthropology

    These human nerve cell tendrils turned to glass nearly 2,000 years ago

    By Laura Sanders
  7. Ogre-faced spider
    Life

    Ogre-faced spiders catch insects out of the air using sound instead of sight

    By Curtis Segarra
  8. dog looking at human
    Neuroscience

    Your dog’s brain doesn’t care about your face

    By Laura Sanders

From the Nature Index

Paid Content