Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026
13:51
Cross-Modal Multivariate Pattern Analysis
Published on: November 9, 2011
Perceptual experience modulates cortical circuits involved in visual awareness
Maartje C de Jong1, Zoe Kourtzi, Raymond van Ee
1Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS, Utrecht, The Netherlands. dejongmc@gmail.com
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|October 4, 2012
Summary
Perceptual experience refines visual awareness by strengthening neural networks. Repeatedly experiencing a visual percept, like binocular rivalry, enhances brain activity and stabilizes perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Interpreting ambiguous sensory information is crucial for environmental interaction.
- The brain is thought to optimize performance through experience and learning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how perceptual experience modulates cortical circuits in visual awareness.
- To differentiate the effects of stimulus repetition versus perceptual repetition on brain activity.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study brain activity.
- Ambiguous visual stimuli, including binocular rivalry and ambiguous structure-from-motion, were employed.
- Stimulus repetition and perceptual repetition effects were disentangled.
Main Results:
- Stimulus repetition and perceptual repetition yielded distinct patterns of brain activity modulation.
- Perceptual repetition increased activity in stimulus-specific visual regions (early for binocular rivalry; early and higher for structure-from-motion).
- Perceptual repetition also altered parietal cortex activity, suggesting a role in temporal integration.
Conclusions:
- Repeated activation of visual networks facilitates the reactivation of specific percepts.
- Perceptual repetition enhances neural activity within and between visual and parietal networks.
- This neural facilitation contributes to stabilizing previously experienced visual percepts.
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