Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan

I don't think we really understand it. We can liken it to things in daily life. But do we really know how that is possible? Well, I don't know is the answer to that question. I mean, with regards to some of these things, we talk about how predictive coding. So predictive coding is how we process information. So if I show you this object, you've never seen it before and I tell you what it is.

then you recognize it. But the next time you see this, you will be able to manipulate it in your brain. So the next time you see it from this angle, you don't have to have learned what this looks like from this angle in order to recognize it. So our brains aren't just... They're modeling machines. Exactly. And they're manipulating everything that comes in to try and make sense of it.

then you recognize it. But the next time you see this, you will be able to manipulate it in your brain. So the next time you see it from this angle, you don't have to have learned what this looks like from this angle in order to recognize it. So our brains aren't just... They're modeling machines. Exactly. And they're manipulating everything that comes in to try and make sense of it.

then you recognize it. But the next time you see this, you will be able to manipulate it in your brain. So the next time you see it from this angle, you don't have to have learned what this looks like from this angle in order to recognize it. So our brains aren't just... They're modeling machines. Exactly. And they're manipulating everything that comes in to try and make sense of it.

We're making sense of the world according to our experience. So this kind of prediction machine that is the brain is making a best guess at what the body should do in this situation and how the world should look in this situation. And you know what? It makes mistakes. That's the bottom line. And these are some sort of mistakes that come out of these faulty predictions or prediction errors.

We're making sense of the world according to our experience. So this kind of prediction machine that is the brain is making a best guess at what the body should do in this situation and how the world should look in this situation. And you know what? It makes mistakes. That's the bottom line. And these are some sort of mistakes that come out of these faulty predictions or prediction errors.

We're making sense of the world according to our experience. So this kind of prediction machine that is the brain is making a best guess at what the body should do in this situation and how the world should look in this situation. And you know what? It makes mistakes. That's the bottom line. And these are some sort of mistakes that come out of these faulty predictions or prediction errors.

I mean, is anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals ever tried for this? Other than in a placebo way, medication doesn't really work for this. What can often work is much simpler than that. This probably will shock you a little bit, but I have seen patients who are having 100 seizures a day and one conversation in which you explain what is happening will stop the seizures there dead on the spot. Oh, wow.

I mean, is anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals ever tried for this? Other than in a placebo way, medication doesn't really work for this. What can often work is much simpler than that. This probably will shock you a little bit, but I have seen patients who are having 100 seizures a day and one conversation in which you explain what is happening will stop the seizures there dead on the spot. Oh, wow.

I mean, is anti-anxiety pharmaceuticals ever tried for this? Other than in a placebo way, medication doesn't really work for this. What can often work is much simpler than that. This probably will shock you a little bit, but I have seen patients who are having 100 seizures a day and one conversation in which you explain what is happening will stop the seizures there dead on the spot. Oh, wow.

Because what you've done then is you've broken the pattern of the expectation. Actually, the one thing that can make these better very quickly for some people, as long as they haven't been there for that long, is just for them to understand what's happening, to be less frightened of it and then distract themselves. Because often it's a kind of a snowball. So you feel the dizziness.

Because what you've done then is you've broken the pattern of the expectation. Actually, the one thing that can make these better very quickly for some people, as long as they haven't been there for that long, is just for them to understand what's happening, to be less frightened of it and then distract themselves. Because often it's a kind of a snowball. So you feel the dizziness.

Because what you've done then is you've broken the pattern of the expectation. Actually, the one thing that can make these better very quickly for some people, as long as they haven't been there for that long, is just for them to understand what's happening, to be less frightened of it and then distract themselves. Because often it's a kind of a snowball. So you feel the dizziness.

And then you think, oh, what comes after the dizziness? I don't mean this in a conscious way, unconsciously. So I just say to patients, you feel the dizziness. So next time you feel the dizziness, look for everything in the room that is green or list all your favorite football teams. Just do something that breaks the pattern.

And then you think, oh, what comes after the dizziness? I don't mean this in a conscious way, unconsciously. So I just say to patients, you feel the dizziness. So next time you feel the dizziness, look for everything in the room that is green or list all your favorite football teams. Just do something that breaks the pattern.

And then you think, oh, what comes after the dizziness? I don't mean this in a conscious way, unconsciously. So I just say to patients, you feel the dizziness. So next time you feel the dizziness, look for everything in the room that is green or list all your favorite football teams. Just do something that breaks the pattern.

Yeah. This is a story that could have begun anywhere in the world, actually, but it happens to be set in Colombia. So I visited this little town in Colombia, beautiful town near Cartagena, right, 2012. In a school in Colombia, it was a very hot classroom. The windows were closed. It was overcrowded. A girl collapsed. We presume she fainted.

Yeah. This is a story that could have begun anywhere in the world, actually, but it happens to be set in Colombia. So I visited this little town in Colombia, beautiful town near Cartagena, right, 2012. In a school in Colombia, it was a very hot classroom. The windows were closed. It was overcrowded. A girl collapsed. We presume she fainted.

Yeah. This is a story that could have begun anywhere in the world, actually, but it happens to be set in Colombia. So I visited this little town in Colombia, beautiful town near Cartagena, right, 2012. In a school in Colombia, it was a very hot classroom. The windows were closed. It was overcrowded. A girl collapsed. We presume she fainted.

And following that, multiple people in the class collapsed. All over the school, they heard the commotion coming from this classroom. So suddenly, you know, everyone's rushing out into the corridors. You can imagine what a heightened situation this was. In that single day, in that one classroom, there were multiple people collapsing.