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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
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Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...
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E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...
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Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
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Long-term Potentiation01:35

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Reversible Cooling-induced Deactivations to Study Cortical Contributions to Obstacle Memory in the Walking Cat
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Perceptual learning: cortical changes when cats learn a new trick.

Yuka Sasaki1, Joshua Gold, Takeo Watanabe

  • 1Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.

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PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neurons in cats' primary visual cortex adapt during learning. This study reveals changes in neuronal tuning, offering new insights into the neural mechanisms of perceptual learning.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Processing
  • Learning and Memory

Background:

  • Perceptual learning enhances the ability to discriminate sensory stimuli.
  • The primary visual cortex (V1) is crucial for initial visual processing.
  • Understanding how neuronal representations change during learning is key to understanding brain plasticity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how neuronal tuning properties in the primary visual cortex change during the acquisition of an orientation-discrimination task.
  • To elucidate the neural basis of perceptual learning in the visual system.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings were performed in the primary visual cortex of cats.
  • Cats were trained on an orientation-discrimination task.
  • Neuronal responses to visual stimuli of varying orientations were analyzed before and after training.

Main Results:

  • Significant changes in the tuning curves of V1 neurons were observed following task learning.
  • Neurons showed altered orientation selectivity, indicating adaptation to the learned task.
  • These modifications suggest a functional reorganization within the primary visual cortex.

Conclusions:

  • Neuronal tuning in the primary visual cortex is adaptable and changes during perceptual learning.
  • These findings provide critical insights into the neural mechanisms underlying how the brain refines visual perception through experience.
  • The study highlights the plasticity of the adult visual cortex and its role in skill acquisition.