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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Network changes in the transition from initial learning to well-practiced visual categorization.

Joe DeGutis¹, Mark D'Esposito

¹VA Boston Healthcare System Boston, MA 02130, USA. degutis@wjh.harvard.edu

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

|November 26, 2009

Summary

Category learning involves a brain network that becomes more coordinated with practice. Extended training enhances neural communication between regions like the inferior temporal cortex (ITC) and medial temporal lobe (MTL) for improved visual categorization.

Keywords:

categorization functional MRI inferior temporal cortex learning medial temporal lobe premotor cortex

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Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

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Creating Objects and Object Categories for Studying Perception and Perceptual Learning

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Published on: November 2, 2012

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroimaging
Human Brain Function

Background:

Visual categorization is crucial for environmental interaction, but its neural underpinnings during learning are unclear.
Initial category learning involves a widespread network including inferior temporal cortex (ITC), medial temporal lobe (MTL), basal ganglia (BG), premotor cortex (PMC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC).
The impact of extended practice on this neural network remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural changes associated with the transition from initial to well-practiced visual categorization.
To compare brain activity and functional connectivity during different stages of category learning.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to scan subjects performing visual categorization tasks.
Brain activity and functional connectivity were analyzed during an initially learned task (100 trials) and a well-practiced task (4250 trials).

Main Results:

A similar distributed network of brain regions was implicated in both initially learned and well-practiced categorization.
Functional connectivity analyses revealed significantly increased coordination between ITC, MTL, and PMC during well-practiced categorization.
These findings highlight dynamic changes in neural communication with learning progression.

Conclusions:

Category learning is supported by a distributed network that shows increased inter-regional coordination with extended practice.
Enhanced communication between ITC, MTL, and PMC is critical for efficient and well-practiced visual category judgments.
This study elucidates the neural plasticity underlying the development of expertise in visual categorization.