Journal article 620 views
Learning-dependent plasticity with and without training in the human brain
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume: 107, Issue: 30, Pages: 13503 - 13508
Swansea University Author: Jiaxiang Zhang
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DOI (Published version): 10.1073/pnas.1002506107
Abstract
Long-term experience through development and evolution and shorter-term training in adulthood have both been suggested to contribute to the optimization of visual functions that mediate our ability to interpret complex scenes. However, the brain plasticity mechanisms that mediate the detection of ob...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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ISSN: | 0027-8424 1091-6490 |
Published: |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
2010
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Online Access: |
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URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61332 |
Abstract: |
Long-term experience through development and evolution and shorter-term training in adulthood have both been suggested to contribute to the optimization of visual functions that mediate our ability to interpret complex scenes. However, the brain plasticity mechanisms that mediate the detection of objects in cluttered scenes remain largely unknown. Here, we combine behavioral and functional MRI (fMRI) measurements to investigate the human-brain mechanisms that mediate our ability to learn statistical regularities and detect targets in clutter. We show two different routes to visual learning in clutter with discrete brain plasticity signatures. Specifically, opportunistic learning of regularities typical in natural contours (i.e., collinearity) can occur simply through frequent exposure, generalize across untrained stimulus features, and shape processing in occipitotemporal regions implicated in the representation of global forms. In contrast, learning to integrate discontinuities (i.e., elements orthogonal to contour paths) requires task-specific training (bootstrap-based learning), is stimulus-dependent, and enhances processing in intraparietal regions implicated in attention-gated learning. We propose that long-term experience with statistical regularities may facilitate opportunistic learning of collinear contours, whereas learning to integrate discontinuities entails bootstrap-based training for the detection of contours in clutter. These findings provide insights in understanding how long-term experience and short-term training interact to shape the optimization of visual recognition processes. |
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College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
Funders: |
his work was supported by a Biotechnology andBiological Sciences Research Council Grant BB/D52199X/1 and the CognitiveForesight Initiative BB/E027436/1 (to Z.K.) |
Issue: |
30 |
Start Page: |
13503 |
End Page: |
13508 |