Experience-dependent representation of visual categories in parietal cortex

Freedman, David J.; Assad, John A.

doi:10.1038/nature05078

Cited by 542Visual perception and processing mechanismsMultisensory perception and integrationMotor Control and Adaptation

Experience-dependent representation of visual categories in parietal cortex

Freedman, David J., Assad, John A.·2006·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature05078

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Abstract

Categorization is a process by which the brain assigns meaning to sensory stimuli. Through experience, we learn to group stimuli into categories, such as 'chair', 'table' and 'vehicle', which are critical for rapidly and appropriately selecting behavioural responses. Although much is known about the neural representation of simple visual stimulus features (for example, orientation, direction and colour), relatively little is known about how the brain learns and encodes the meaning of stimuli. We trained monkeys to classify 360 degrees of visual motion directions into two discrete categories, and compared neuronal activity in the lateral intraparietal (LIP) and middle temporal (MT) areas, two interconnected brain regions known to be involved in visual motion processing. Here we show that neurons in LIP--an area known to be centrally involved in visuo-spatial attention, motor planning and decision-making-robustly reflect the category of motion direction as a result of learning. The activity of LIP neurons encoded directions of motion according to their category membership, and that encoding shifted after the monkeys were retrained to group the same stimuli into two new categories. In contrast, neurons in area MT were strongly direction selective but carried little, if any, explicit category information. This indicates that LIP might be an important nexus for the transformation of visual direction selectivity to more abstract representations that encode the behavioural relevance, or meaning, of stimuli.

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Learned sensory-motor associations have been shown to correspond to changes in LIP but not MT.
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Authors: Freedman, D. J., & Assad, J. A.
Affiliations: Harvard University (US)
Corresponding author: Freedman, David J.
ORCID: Freedman, David J.
Assad, John A.
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2006-08-27
Volume: 443
Issue: 7107
Pages: 85-88
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature05078
OpenAlex: W1975145078
Cited by: 542
References: 35
Citations by year: 2026: 17 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 30 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 26
FWCI: 10.63
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
Keywords: lateral intraparietal area, middle temporal area, parietal cortex, category learning, direction selectivity, visuospatial attention, neuronal encoding, perceptual categorization
MeSH terms: Animals, Macaca mulatta, Male, Motion, Neurons, Parietal Lobe, Photic Stimulation, Time Factors, Visual Perception

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Experience-dependent representation of visual categories in parietal cortex

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