As I said once before (October 13), perception, like memory, is all about information coded in the brain, and in another demonstration of the marvellous way our brain interprets the world for us, new research reveals that the brain can use information received after an event to decide how to perceive it (of course, we're talking very soon after - within 130ms).
Another study reported at the same conference reveals that two quite distinct visual pathways in the brain enable you to see an object and reach out to pick it up. In one interesting case, a patient who had suffered accidental exposure to carbon monoxide, was left with the ability to accurately judge the distance of an object and grasp it appropriately, while being unable to identify the object. Imaging studies have since discovered different brain regions areresponsible for perception-vision and for motion-vision.
The most amusing study of the conference however ( amusing if you remember the old adage about someone being unable to walk and talk at the same time), is the suggestion that talking while walking puts contrasting demands on the spinal cord and requires neural coordination, and may exacerbate back problems. The study found that people unconsciously time their breathing to avoid inhaling as each foot strikes the ground, and when people were made to describe a visual scene while walking, their ability to coordinate their foot strikes and inhalations decreased.
(these conference papers were reported in BioMedNet, free registration required)

The headline reads: ".. going to the pub good for the brain". In the way of headlines. Go to the news article it's quoting and you see the headline is "Gardening turns us into vegetables". Which is cute, if not precisely accurate. And the BBC do worst of all with their "Brain benefits of a quick pint". But though the reporting may, as usual, be going for the cute and the catchy, the study being reported is the latest of several studies indicating that various leisure activities are of value to cognition. But do note that the bit about the pub is referring to the social engagement - talking to people - not the value of nursing a solitary pint! and that a number of activities were more useful than going to the pub! Moreover, while it is clear now that there is an association between engagement in various social and intellectual activities and cognitive function (at least in middle and older age), it is not yet clear that such activities improve cognitive function. On the other hand, from the purely personal point of view, if you are concerned about being in a mental rut, it does seem that your best approach is to take up such activities.