Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus

IntroductionPerceptual learning of complex stimulus (such as faces or houses) are shown to be specific to the stimulus, indicating the plasticity of the human high-level visual cortex. However, limited understanding exists regarding the plasticity of the representation of complex stimuli in visual w...

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Main Authors: Yangyang Du, Hui Kou, Huijie Liu, Taiyong Bi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1578862/full
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author Yangyang Du
Hui Kou
Huijie Liu
Taiyong Bi
author_facet Yangyang Du
Hui Kou
Huijie Liu
Taiyong Bi
author_sort Yangyang Du
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionPerceptual learning of complex stimulus (such as faces or houses) are shown to be specific to the stimulus, indicating the plasticity of the human high-level visual cortex. However, limited understanding exists regarding the plasticity of the representation of complex stimuli in visual working memory (VWM) and its specificity.MethodsTo address this question, we adopted a delayed match-to-sample task to train the working memory for faces and houses. Subjects were trained for 6 days with neutral faces, happy faces, sad faces, and houses in Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.ResultsThe results revealed that training significantly increased the sensitivity (d’) to discriminate the visual representations in VWM in all four experiments. Furthermore, the learning effects of neutral faces were transferable to emotional faces and vice versa. However, the learning effects of emotional faces exhibited limited transfer to untrained emotional faces. More importantly, the transfer of learning effects between faces and houses was asymmetrical, i.e., only the learning effects of faces could transfer to houses, whereas the reverse was not true.DiscussionThese results highlight distinct cognitive processes underlying the training effects for different stimulus categories and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of VWM improvement.
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spelling doaj-art-d2e82b09405b4ee985f0967e9f1c5bbb2025-08-20T03:53:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-04-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15788621578862Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulusYangyang Du0Hui Kou1Huijie Liu2Taiyong Bi3School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaSchool of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaSchool of Medical Information Engineering, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaSchool of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaIntroductionPerceptual learning of complex stimulus (such as faces or houses) are shown to be specific to the stimulus, indicating the plasticity of the human high-level visual cortex. However, limited understanding exists regarding the plasticity of the representation of complex stimuli in visual working memory (VWM) and its specificity.MethodsTo address this question, we adopted a delayed match-to-sample task to train the working memory for faces and houses. Subjects were trained for 6 days with neutral faces, happy faces, sad faces, and houses in Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.ResultsThe results revealed that training significantly increased the sensitivity (d’) to discriminate the visual representations in VWM in all four experiments. Furthermore, the learning effects of neutral faces were transferable to emotional faces and vice versa. However, the learning effects of emotional faces exhibited limited transfer to untrained emotional faces. More importantly, the transfer of learning effects between faces and houses was asymmetrical, i.e., only the learning effects of faces could transfer to houses, whereas the reverse was not true.DiscussionThese results highlight distinct cognitive processes underlying the training effects for different stimulus categories and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of VWM improvement.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1578862/fullperceptual learningvisual working memoryfacial emotionface perceptiontransfer
spellingShingle Yangyang Du
Hui Kou
Huijie Liu
Taiyong Bi
Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
Frontiers in Neuroscience
perceptual learning
visual working memory
facial emotion
face perception
transfer
title Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
title_full Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
title_fullStr Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
title_full_unstemmed Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
title_short Asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
title_sort asymmetric transfer between the learning of the complex stimulus
topic perceptual learning
visual working memory
facial emotion
face perception
transfer
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1578862/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yangyangdu asymmetrictransferbetweenthelearningofthecomplexstimulus
AT huikou asymmetrictransferbetweenthelearningofthecomplexstimulus
AT huijieliu asymmetrictransferbetweenthelearningofthecomplexstimulus
AT taiyongbi asymmetrictransferbetweenthelearningofthecomplexstimulus