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Learning to filter out visual distractors
Author(s) -
Gál Viktor,
Kozák Lajos R.,
Kóbor István,
Bankó Éva M.,
Serences John T.,
Vidnyánszky Zoltán
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2009.06724.x
Subject(s) - functional magnetic resonance imaging , task (project management) , perception , filter (signal processing) , motion (physics) , computer science , visual perception , artificial intelligence , visual processing , motion perception , psychology , computer vision , neuroscience , management , economics
When learning to master a visual task in a cluttered natural environment, it is important to optimize the processing of task‐relevant information and to efficiently filter out distractors. However, the mechanisms that suppress task‐irrelevant information are not well understood. Here we show that training leads to a selective increase in motion coherence detection thresholds for task‐irrelevant motion directions that interfered with the processing of task‐relevant directions during training. Furthermore, using functional magnetic resonance imaging we found that training attenuated neural responses associated with the task‐irrelevant direction compared with the task‐relevant direction in the visual cortical areas involved in processing of visual motion. The strongest suppression of functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to task‐irrelevant motion information was observed in human area MT+. These findings reveal that perceptual learning leads to the suppression and efficient filtering of task‐irrelevant visual information.