Perceptual learning without signal
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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Nicolas Dupuis-Roy1, Frédéric Gosselin
1Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, Qué., Canada H3C 3J7. nicolas@dupuis.ca
Abstract:
Perceptual learning is characterized by an improvement in a perceptual task following practice. Several studies have demonstrated that top-down processes, such as attention and task-related expectations, can be necessary components of perceptual learning [Ahissar & Hochstein, 1993, 2000, 2002; Fahle & Morgan, 1996; Seitz, Lefebvre, Watanabe, & Jolicoeur, 2005; Seitz, Nanez, Holloway, Koyama, & Watanabe, 2005; Seitz & Watanabe, 2003; Shiu & Pashler, 1992]. Here, we report an experiment that isolated top-down processes in perceptual learning, using a variant of the Gosselin and Schyns (1992) no-signal procedure. Results indicate that top-down processes can be sufficient to produce substantial, possibly long-lasting and rotation-invariant perceptual learning.
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