Nature Neuroscience
- 9, 1446 - 1448 (2006)
Published online: 8 October 2006; | doi:10.1038/nn1787
Discrimination learning induced by training with identical stimuliSygal Amitay1, 2, Amy Irwin1 & David R Moore11
MRC Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. 2
Present address: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, University College London Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
Correspondence should be addressed to Sygal Amitay s.amitay@ich.ucl.ac.uk Sensory stimuli become easier to detect or distinguish with practice. It is generally assumed that the task-relevant stimulus dimension becomes increasingly more salient as a result of attentively performing the task at a level that is neither too easy nor too difficult. However, here we show improved auditory frequency discrimination following training with physically identical tones that were impossible to discriminate. We also show that learning transfers across tone frequencies and across modalities: training on a silent visuospatial computer game improved thresholds on the auditory discrimination task. We suggest that three processes are necessary for optimal perceptual learning: sensitization through exposure to the stimulus, modality- and dimension-specific attention, and general arousal.
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