Different Dynamics of Performance and Brain Activation in the Time Course of Perceptual Learning

Perceptual learning is regarded as a manifestation of experience-dependent plasticity in the sensory systems, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We measured the dynamics of performance on a visual task and brain activation in the human primary visual cortex (V1) across the time cou...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2008-03, Vol.57 (6), p.827-833
Hauptverfasser: Yotsumoto, Yuko, Watanabe, Takeo, Sasaki, Yuka
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Perceptual learning is regarded as a manifestation of experience-dependent plasticity in the sensory systems, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. We measured the dynamics of performance on a visual task and brain activation in the human primary visual cortex (V1) across the time course of perceptual learning. Within the first few weeks of training, brain activation in a V1 subregion corresponding to the trained visual field quadrant and task performance both increased. However, while performance levels then saturated and were maintained at a constant level, brain activation in the corresponding areas decreased to the level observed before training. These findings indicate that there are distinct temporal phases in the time course of perceptual learning, related to differential dynamics of BOLD activity in visual cortex.
ISSN:0896-6273
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.02.034