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Perceptual Learning: Use-Dependent Cortical Plasticity.

¹State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;

Annual Review of Vision Science

|May 24, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Perceptual learning enhances abilities through practice, revealing use-dependent brain changes. This process involves complex interactions across multiple brain areas for skill acquisition.

Keywords:

cortical plasticity learning specificity learning transfer perceptual learning top-down influence visual cortex

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Perception

Background:

Perceptual abilities improve with practice, a phenomenon termed perceptual learning.
Perceptual learning provides insights into use-dependent neural plasticity in the adult brain.
Diverse behavioral and cortical changes are associated with perceptual learning, with ongoing debate on underlying neural mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize current evidence on the neural substrates of perceptual learning.
To elucidate the interplay of bottom-up and top-down processes in perceptual skill acquisition.
To highlight the global cortical reorganization involved in perceptual learning.

Main Methods:

Review and synthesis of existing experimental findings on perceptual learning.
Analysis of behavioral and neuroimaging data related to perceptual skill improvement.
Integration of evidence from studies on sensory processing, attention, and decision-making.

Main Results:

Perceptual learning involves coordinated changes across multiple cortical areas.
Learning is driven by an interplay between bottom-up sensory input and top-down attentional control.
Reorganization spans sensory-specialized areas, attentional networks, and decision-making circuits.

Conclusions:

Perceptual learning results from a complex, distributed neural network reorganization.
Understanding interactions between cortical areas is crucial for deciphering skill learning mechanisms.
Future research should focus on inter-areal communication in perceptual and skill learning.