Long-range cortical synchronization supports abrupt visual learning

Visual plasticity declines sharply after the critical period, yet we easily learn to recognize new faces and places, even as adults. Such learning is often characterized by a moment of insight,'' an abrupt and dramatic improvement in recognition. The mechanisms that support abrupt learning are unknown, but one hypothesis is that they involve changes in synchronization between brain regions. To test this hypothesis, we used a behavioral task in which non-human primates rapidly learned to recognize novel images and to associate them with specific responses. Simultaneous recordings from inferotemporal and prefrontal cortices revealed a transient synchronization of neural activity between these areas that peaked around the moment of insight. Synchronization was strongest between inferotemporal sites that encoded images and reward-sensitive prefrontal sites. Moreover, its magnitude intensified gradually over image exposures, suggesting that abrupt learning is the culmination of a search for informative signals within a circuit linking sensory information to task demands.

Automated summary

Research shows that adults can easily learn to recognize new things through moments of insight, even after the critical period. Synchronization of neural activity between specific areas of the brain is believed to be a mechanism behind this abrupt learning, with the level of synchronization related to image encoding and reward sensitivity.