Sensory processing for perception and action

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The simple act of picking up a cup of coffee requires the brain to perform a complex series of sensory to motor transformations. Specifically, the brain must use visual information to locate the cup, and visual and proprioceptive information (e.g. information derived from joint and limb angles) to locate the hand. This visual and proprioceptive information is then integrated and the brain decides on a plan for action. Intuitively, it makes sense for one to first form a conscious percept of the surrounding environment, including hand location, based on the incoming sensory information, and then to make this percept available to the parts of the brain that decide on plans for action. However, based on the visual experiences of some individuals, it is evident that the processing of visual information for perception and action does not take place in such a single or unified process. In fact, current models of sensory processing suggest that visual information (and proprioception) are processed along two anatomically distinct and functionally dissociated pathways, dependent on whether the information is to be used to guide action or for perception.