Progressive neuronal plasticity in primate visual cortex during stimulus familiarization

The primate brain is equipped to learn and remember newly encountered visual stimuli such as faces and objects. In the macaque inferior temporal (IT) cortex, neurons mark the familiarity of a visual stimulus through response modification, often involving a decrease in spiking rate. Here, we investigate the emergence of this neural plasticity by longitudinally tracking IT neurons during several weeks of familiarization with face images. We found that most neurons in the anterior medial (AM) face patch exhibited a gradual decline in their late-phase visual responses to multiple stimuli. Individual neurons varied from days to weeks in their rates of plasticity, with time constants determined by the number of days of exposure rather than the cumulative number of presentations. We postulate that the sequential recruitment of neurons with experience-modified responses may provide an internal and graded measure of familiarity strength, which is a key mnemonic com- ponent of visual recognition.

Automated summary

The primate brain has the ability to learn and remember new visual stimuli, such as faces and objects. Neurons in the macaque inferior temporal (IT) cortex mark the familiarity of visual stimuli through a decrease in spiking rate. By studying neurons in the anterior medial (AM) face patch during weeks of familiarization with face images, we found that most neurons exhibited a gradual decline in their late-phase visual responses. Each neuron's rate of plasticity varied over time, determined by the number of days of exposure rather than the total number of presentations. We propose that the sequential recruitment of neurons with experience-modified responses serves as an internal and graded measure of familiarity strength, which is crucial for visual recognition.