Effects of perceptual learning on primary visual cortex activity in humans

Pourtois, Gilles; Rauss, Karsten; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Schwartz, Sophie

doi:10.1016/j.visres.2007.10.027

Scientific article

English

Effects of perceptual learning on primary visual cortex activity in humans

Contributors

Pourtois, Gilles; Rauss, Karsten; Vuilleumier, Patrik

; Schwartz, Sophie

Published in

Vision research, vol. 48, no. 1, p. 55-62

Publication date

2008

Abstract

Psychophysical and neuroimaging studies suggest that perceptual learning may affect activity in primary visual cortex (V1). Yet, it remains unclear whether such changes involve intrinsic V1 plasticity or feedback from later processing stages. Here we recorded high-density electro-encephalography in 24 volunteers, 24-h after training on a visual texture discrimination task in the upper or lower visual-field. Post-training improvement in upper visual-field was associated with changes in early visual responses, starting 40ms post-stimulus, with reduced amplitude of retinotopic C1, known to reflect V1 activity. No behavioral or neurophysiological effect was found after training in lower visual-field, suggesting retinotopic constraints on perceptual learning. Our results demonstrate that successful acquisition of a perceptual skill can produce long-lasting changes for initial sensory inputs in the adult human visual system.

Keywords

Adult
Brain Mapping/methods
Discrimination Learning/physiology
Electroencephalography
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neuronal Plasticity/physiology
Pattern Recognition Visual/physiology
Photic Stimulation/methods
Practice (Psychology)
Psychophysics
Visual Cortex/physiology
Visual Fields/physiology

UNIGE affiliation entities

Faculté de médecine / Section de médecine fondamentale / Département de neurosciences fondamentales

UNIGE research groups

Citation (ISO format)

POURTOIS, Gilles et al. Effects of perceptual learning on primary visual cortex activity in humans. In: Vision research, 2008, vol. 48, n° 1, p. 55–62. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2007.10.027

Article (Accepted version)

Identifiers

PID : unige:836
DOI : 10.1016/j.visres.2007.10.027
PMID : 18082238

Journal ISSN

0042-6989

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08/11/2024 11:11:37

Effects of perceptual learning on primary visual cortex activity in humans

Contributors

Published in

Publication date

Abstract

Keywords

UNIGE affiliation entities

UNIGE research groups

Citation (ISO format)

Main files (1)

Identifiers

Journal ISSN

Technical informations

Creation

First validation

Update

Status update

Last indexation