Abstract
A degraded image of an object or face, which appearsmeaningless when seen for the first time, is easily recognizableafter viewing an undegraded version of the same image1. The neural mechanisms by whichthis form of rapid perceptual learning facilitates perception are notwell understood. Psychological theory suggests the involvementof systems for processing stimulus attributes, spatial attentionand feature binding2,as well as those involved in visual imagery3. Here we investigate where andhow this rapid perceptual learning is expressed in the human brain byusing functional neuroimaging to measure brain activity duringexposure to degraded images before and after exposure to thecorresponding undegraded versions (Fig. 1). Perceptuallearning of faces or objects enhanced the activity of inferiortemporal regions known to be involved in face and object recognitionrespectively46. In addition, both faceand object learning led to increased activity in medial and lateralparietal regions that have been implicated in attention7 and visual imagery8. We observed a strong couplingbetween the temporal face area and the medial parietal cortexwhen, and only when, faces were perceived. Thissuggests that perceptual learning involves direct interactions betweenareas involved in face recognition and those involved in spatialattention, feature binding and memoryrecall.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ramachandran, V. S. in The Artful Eye (eds Gregory, R. L. & Harris, J.) 249–267 (Oxford University Press, Oxford, (1994)).
Treisman, A. Features and objects. Quart. J. Exp. Psych. 40 A, 201–237 (1988).
Kosslyn, S. M. Image and Brain: The Resolution of the Imagery Debate (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, (1996)).
Moran, J. & Desimone, R. Selective attention gates visual processing in the extrastriate cortex. Science 229, 782–784 (1985).
Baylis, G. C. & Rolls, E. T. Responses of neurones in the inferior temporal cortex in short term and serial recognition memory tasks. Exp. Brain Res. 65, 614–622 (1987).
Gross, C. G., Bender, D. B. & Gerstein, G. L. Activity of inferior temporal neurons in behaving monkey. Neuropsychologia 17, 215–229 (1979).
Posner, M. I. & Petersen, S. E. The attention system of the human brain. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 13, 25–42 (1990).
Fletcher, P. et al. The mind's eye — activation of the precuneus in memory related imagery. Neuroimage 2, 196–200 (1995).
Friston, K. J. Testing for anatomically specified regional effects. Human Brain Mapping 5, 133–166 (1997).
Haxby, J. et al. The functional organisation of human extrastriate cortex: a PET-rCBF study of selective attention to faces and locations. J. Neurosci. 14, 6336–6353 (1994).
Clark, V. P. et al. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of human visual cortex during face matching: a comparison with positron emission tomography. Neuroimage 4, 1–15 (1996).
Kanwisher, N., McDermott, J. & Chun, M. M. The fusiform face area: a module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception. J. Neurosci. 17, 4302–4311 (1997).
Desimone, R. & Gross, C. G. Visual areas in the temporal lobe of the macaque. Brain Res. 178, 363–380 (1979).
Tanaka, K., Saito, H., Fukada, Y. & Moriya, M. Coding visual images of objects in the inferotemporal cortex of the macaque monkey. J. Neurosci. 6, 134–144 (1991).
Gross, G. C. in Handbook of Sensory Physiology (ed. Jung, B. R.) Vol. 7b;, 451–482 (Springer, Berlin, (1972)).
Ungerleider, L. G. & Mishkin, M. in Analysis of Behaviour (eds Goodale, M. A. & Mansfield, R. J. Q.) 549–586 (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, (1982)).
Malach, R. et al. Object-related activity revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging in human occipital cortex. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 92, 8135–8139 (1995).
Sakai, K. & Miyashita, Y. Neural organization for the long-term memory of paired associates. Nature 354, 152–155 (1995).
Tovee, M. J., Rolls, E. T. & Ramachandrann, V. S. Visual learning in neurons of the primate temporal visual cortex. Neuroreport 7, 2757–2760 (1996).
Sakia, K. & Miyashita, Y. Neuronal tuning to learned complex forms in vision. Neuroreport 5, 829–832 (1994).
Miller, E. K., Li, L. & Desimone, R. Aneural mechanism for working and recognition memory in inferior temporal cortex. Science 254, 1377–1379 (1991).
Li, L., Miller, E. K. & Desimone, R. The representation of stimulus familiarity in the anterior inferior temporal cortex. J. Neurophysiol. 69, 1918–1929 (1993).
Friedman-Hill, S. R., Robertson, L. C. & Treisman, A. Parietal contributions to visual feature binding: evidence from a patient with bilateral lesions. Science 269, 853–855 (1995).
Shallice, T. et al. Brain regions associated with acquisition and retrieval of verbal episodic memory. Nature 368, 633–635 (1994).
Ishai, A. & Sagi, D. Common mechanisms of visual imagery and perception. Science 268, 1772–1774 (1995).
Heinze, H. J. et al. Combined spatial and temporal imaging of brain activity during visual selective attention in humans. Nature 372, 543–546 (1994).
Fink, G. R. et al. Where in the brain does visual attention select the forest and trees? Nature 382, 626–629 (1996).
Roelfsema, P. R., Engel, A. K., Konig, P. & Singer, W. Visuomotor integration is associated with zero time-lag synchronization among cortical areas. Nature 385, 157–161 (1997).
Friston, K. et al. Statistical parametric mapping in functional imaging: a general linear approach. Human Brain Mapping 2, 189–210 (1995).
Talairach, J. & Tournoux, P. Co-planar Stereotaxic Atlas of the Human Brain (Thieme, Stuttgart, (1988)).
Acknowledgements
We thank our volunteers and the radiography staff at the Wellcome Department. R.J.D., K.J.F., R.S.J.F. and G.R.F. are supported by the Wellcome Trust. The bibliographic support of R. Lai continues to be invaluable.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dolan, R., Fink, G., Rolls, E. et al. How the brain learns to see objects and faces in an impoverished context. Nature 389, 596–599 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/39309
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/39309
This article is cited by
-
Neural ensembles in the murine medial prefrontal cortex process distinct information during visual perceptual learning
BMC Biology (2023)
-
Face pareidolia is enhanced by 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) of the face perception network
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Long-term priors influence visual perception through recruitment of long-range feedback
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Computational models of category-selective brain regions enable high-throughput tests of selectivity
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Prior object-knowledge sharpens properties of early visual feature-detectors
Scientific Reports (2018)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.