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Three-Dimensional Shape Modeling and Analysis of Brain Structures
Published on: November 14, 2019
Dissociable circuits for visual shape learning in the young and aging human brain.
Stephen D Mayhew1, Zoe Kourtzi
1School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|April 2, 2013
Summary
Older adults learn visual forms as effectively as young adults, but use different brain networks. This study reveals age-related differences in the neural basis of visual learning and attentionally-guided learning in aging brains.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Aging Research
Background:
- Object recognition in cluttered environments is crucial for daily life.
- Learning enhances perceptual skills in both young and older adults.
- Neural mechanisms of visual form recognition training in older adults are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the brain circuits involved in learning global visual forms in the aging human brain.
- To compare age-related differences in neural mechanisms of visual form learning.
- To identify how learning modulates brain activity during visual discrimination tasks.
Main Methods:
- Combined behavioral measurements and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- Assessed perceptual sensitivity in visual form discrimination.
- Analyzed brain activation patterns during learning and control tasks in young and older adults.
Main Results:
- Both young and older adults showed similar improvements in perceptual sensitivity with learning.
- Young adults engaged occipitotemporal, parietal, and frontal regions for visual form learning.
- Older adults primarily engaged parietal regions, suggesting a greater role for attentionally-guided learning.
- Learning-dependent changes persisted in occipitotemporal and parietal regions but not frontal regions during a control task.
Conclusions:
- Visual form learning enhances perceptual sensitivity similarly across age groups.
- Neural circuits for visual form learning differ between young and older adults.
- Older adults may rely more on attentionally-guided learning, while frontal activations reflect task-specific decision-making changes.
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