Perceptual Learning and Decision-Making in Human Medial Frontal Cortex

The dominant view that perceptual learning is accompanied by changes in early sensory representations has recently been challenged. Here we tested the idea that perceptual learning can be accounted for by reinforcement learning involving changes in higher decision-making areas. We trained subjects o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNeuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 549 - 559
Main Authors Kahnt, Thorsten, Grueschow, Marcus, Speck, Oliver, Haynes, John-Dylan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Inc 12.05.2011
Elsevier Limited
Subjects
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Brain Mapping
Decision making
Decision Making - physiology
Discrimination (Psychology) - physiology
Female
Frontal Lobe - blood supply
Frontal Lobe - physiology
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - methods
Male
Models, Psychological
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Orientation - physiology
Oxygen - blood
Photic Stimulation - methods
Predictive Value of Tests
Psychophysics
Reinforcement (Psychology)
Sensory perception
Time Factors
Values
Variables
Visual task performance
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Summary:The dominant view that perceptual learning is accompanied by changes in early sensory representations has recently been challenged. Here we tested the idea that perceptual learning can be accounted for by reinforcement learning involving changes in higher decision-making areas. We trained subjects on an orientation discrimination task involving feedback over 4 days, acquiring fMRI data on the first and last day. Behavioral improvements were well explained by a reinforcement learning model in which learning leads to enhanced readout of sensory information, thereby establishing noise-robust representations of decision variables. We find stimulus orientation encoded in early visual and higher cortical regions such as lateral parietal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). However, only activity patterns in the ACC tracked changes in decision variables during learning. These results provide strong evidence for perceptual learning-related changes in higher order areas and suggest that perceptual and reward learning are based on a common neurobiological mechanism. ► Reinforcement learning model accounts for human visual perceptual learning ► Frontal cortex encodes learning-related changes in model-derived decision variables ►Perceptual learning is driven by reinforcement learning processes
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ISSN:0896-6273
1097-4199
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.054