Original title: Affordance switching in self-organizing brain-body-environment systems
Authors: Vicente Raja, Matthieu M. de Wit
This article dives into how organisms interact with their surroundings by perceiving affordances—opportunities for action—present in their environment. It explores the idea that the brain, body, and environment dynamically interact to enable these responses, termed “affordance switching.” While behavioral studies have delved into this concept, research on how the brain processes these shifts remains limited. The article sheds light on the emerging field of ecological neuroscience, aiming to comprehend how neural dynamics underpin transitions between affordances. It proposes that such shifts aren’t solely governed by neural mechanisms but arise from the collective interplay of brain, body, and environment. The piece discusses ongoing and future research aiming to unravel the neural dynamics involved in these transitions, exploring how organisms adapt their responses when engaging with environmental opportunities.
Original article: https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.10383