title: Perceptual learning incepted by decoded fMRI neurofeedback without stimulus presentation.
abstract: It is controversial whether the adult primate early visual cortex is sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning (VPL). The controversy occurs partially because most VPL studies have examined correlations between behavioral and neural activity changes rather than cause-and-effect relationships. With an online-feedback method that uses decoded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals, we induced activity patterns only in early visual cortex corresponding to an orientation without stimulus presentation or participants' awareness of what was to be learned. The induced activation caused VPL specific to the orientation. These results suggest that early visual areas are so plastic that mere inductions of activity patterns are sufficient to cause VPL. This technique can induce plasticity in a highly selective manner, potentially leading to powerful training and rehabilitative protocols.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Keihanna Science City, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D058765:Neurofeedback; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D012858:Size Perception; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult