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Learning to find a shape

Nature Neuroscience volume 3, pages 264–269 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

We studied the transition of stimuli from novel to familiar in visual search and in the guidance of attention to a particular object. Ability to identify an object improved dramatically over several days of training. The learning was specific for the object's position in the visual field, orientation and configuration. Improvement was initially localized to one or two positions near the fixation spot and then expanded radially to include the full area of the stimulus array. Characteristics of this learning process may reflect a shift in the cortical representation of complex features toward earlier stages in the visual pathway.

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Figure 1: Training on triangles of a particular orientation resulted in improvements in detection specific to the object at the trained orientation.
Figure 2: Learning showed visuotopic specificity.
Figure 3: Performance as a function of number of distractors within and outside the training region.
Figure 4: Learning was specific for object configuration and transferred to a new background.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Crist for discussions and comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH grant EY07968 and a Burroughs Wellcome fellowship to M.S.

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  1. The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, 10021-6399, New York, USA

    M. Sigman & C. D. Gilbert

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  1. M. Sigman
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  2. C. D. Gilbert
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Correspondence to C. D. Gilbert.

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Sigman, M., Gilbert, C. Learning to find a shape. Nat Neurosci 3, 264–269 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/72979

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