preafference

n. a central brain process in which the somatosensory area is primed to expect the particular sensory inputs (sights, sounds, etc.) that are predicted as the consequence of an intended motor action. It is the means by which, for example, a person turning his or her head understands immediately that the motion perceived is in the body and not in the external world. Preafference has also been proposed as a neural basis for what is experienced subjectively as attention or expectancy. Compare reafference. See also brain comparator; corollary discharge; reafference principle. [described by U.S. neuroscientist Walter J. Freeman III (1927– )]

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Psychology term of the day

February 1st 2025

Psychometric Society

an international nonprofit professional organization founded in 1935 to promote the advancement of quantitative measurement practices in psychology, education, and the social sciences. It publishes the journal Psychometrika.