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PMID: 15156149 Published · ppublish English Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Perceptual learning and top-down influences in primary visual cortex.

Nature neuroscience ·Vol. 7 ·No. 6 ·2004-06-00 ·Pages 651-7

Li W, Piëch V, Gilbert CD

Abstract

Neuronal responses at early stages in visual cortical processing, including those in primary visual cortex (V1), are subject to the influences of visual context, experience and attention. Here we show that for monkeys trained in a shape discrimination task, V1 neurons took on novel functional properties related to the attributes of the trained shapes. Furthermore, these properties depended on the perceptual task being performed; neurons responded very differently to an identical visual stimulus under different visual discrimination tasks. These top-down influences were seen from the very beginning and throughout the entire time course of the neural responses. Information theoretic analysis showed that neurons carried more information about a stimulus attribute when the animals were performing a task related to that attribute. Our findings suggest that the output from V1 reflects both sensory and behavioral context.

MeSH Terms
Action Potentials/physiology Animals Learning/physiology Macaca mulatta Photic Stimulation/methods Psychomotor Performance/physiology Visual Cortex/physiology Visual Perception/physiology
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Li Wu
The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Piëch Valentin
Gilbert Charles D
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Article Info
Journal
Nature neuroscience
Abbr.
Nat Neurosci
ISSN
1097-6256
DOI
10.1038/nn1255
Published
2004-06-00
Epub
2004-00-23
Pages
651-7
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
9809671
PMCID
PMC1440483
Subset
IM
Grants
NEI NIH HHS · R01 EY007968 · United States
NEI NIH HHS · EY07968 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/nn1255 PMC Full Text View journal details
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