Sharpened cortical tuning and enhanced cortico-cortical communication contribute to the long-term neural mechanisms of visual motion perceptual learning

• Published in: NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 115; pp. 17 - 29
• Main Authors: Chen, Nihong, Bi, Taiyong, Zhou, Tiangang, Li, Sheng, Liu, Zili, Fang, Fang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.07.2015; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Brain Mapping; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Decision making; Decision Making - physiology; Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology; Dynamic causal modeling; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humans; Learning - physiology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Models, Neurological; Motion Perception - physiology; Multivariate analysis; Nerve Net - physiology; Oxygen - blood; Perceptual learning; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Sensory perception; Studies; Synaptic Transmission - physiology; Visual cortex; Visual Cortex - physiology; Visual Perception - physiology; Visual task performance; Young Adult; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Perceptual learning; Visual cortex; Dynamic causal modeling; Multivariate analysis
• ISSN: 1053-8119; 1095-9572; 1095-9572
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.041

Much has been debated about whether the neural plasticity mediating perceptual learning takes place at the sensory or decision-making stage in the brain. To investigate this, we trained human subjects in a visual motion direction discrimination task. Behavioral performance and BOLD signals were measured before, immediately after, and two weeks after training. Parallel to subjects' long-lasting behavioral improvement, the neural selectivity in V3A and the effective connectivity from V3A to IPS (intraparietal sulcus, a motion decision-making area) exhibited a persistent increase for the trained direction. Moreover, the improvement was well explained by a linear combination of the selectivity and connectivity increases. These findings suggest that the long-term neural mechanisms of motion perceptual learning are implemented by sharpening cortical tuning to trained stimuli at the sensory processing stage, as well as by optimizing the connections between sensory and decision-making areas in the brain. •Motion perceptual learning improves the neural selectivity in V3A.•Motion perceptual learning enhances the effective connectivity from V3A to IPS.•A combination of the selectivity and connectivity increases explains motion learning.