Cue-triggered activity replay in human early visual cortex

The recall of learned temporal sequences by a visual cue is an important form of experience-based neural plasticity. Here we observed such reactivation in awake human visual cortex using intracranial recording. After repeated exposure to a moving dot, a flash of the dot was able to trigger neural reactivation in the downstream receptive field along the motion path. This effect was observed only when the cue appeared near the receptive field. The estimated traveling speed was faster compared to the activation induced by the real motion. We suggest a range-limited, time-compressed reactivation as a result of repeated visual exposure in awake human visual cortex.

Automated summary

The recall of learned temporal sequences through a visual cue is an important form of neural plasticity, observed in awake human visual cortex with neural reactivation in the downstream receptive field. After repeated exposure to a moving dot, a flash of the dot triggers neural reactivation in the receptive field along the motion path, with faster estimated traveling speed than real motion activation.