The curriculum effect in visual learning: The role of readout dimensionality

Generalization of visual perceptual learning (VPL) to unseen conditions varies across tasks. Previous work suggests that training curriculum may be integral to generalization, yet a theoretical explanation is lacking. We propose an explanatory theory of visual learning generalization and curriculum effects by leveraging an artificial neural network (ANN) model of VPL in comparison with humans. We found that easy-to-hard sequential training improved generalization in both humans and ANNs. However, when easy and hard conditions were interleaved, humans and ANNs showed different behaviours: while ANNs performed worse than with sequential training, humans maintained good performance but with large inter-individual variability. Investigating ANN models trained with different curricula, we demonstrated that models relying on low-dimensional neural populations showed superior generalization. This readout subspace dimensionality was directly determined by curriculum: learners who learned from easy tasks early formed lower-dimensional subspaces and generalized better. Our theory provides a mechanistic framework linking curriculum design to VPL generalization through neural population dimensionality.