Learning to Discriminate Face Views

Abstract

. Although perceptual learning of simple visual features has been studied extensively and intensively for many years, we still know little about the mechanisms of perceptual learning of complex object recognition. In a series of seven experiments, human perceptual learning in discrimination of in-depth orientation of face view was studied using psychophysical methods. We trained subjects to discriminate face orientations around a face view (i.e., 30°) over eight daily sessions, which resulted in a significant improvement in sensitivity to the face view orientation. This improved sensitivity was highly specific to the trained orientation and persisted up to 6 mo. Different from perceptual learning of simple visual features, this orientation-specific learning effect could completely transfer across changes in face size, visual field, and face identity. A complete transfer also occurred between two partial face images that were mutually exclusive but constituted a complete face. However, the transfer of the learning effect between upright and inverted faces and between a face and a paperclip object was very weak. These results shed light on the mechanisms of the perceptual learning of face view discrimination. They suggest that the visual system had learned how to compute face orientation from face configural information more accurately and that a large amount of plastic changes took place at a level of higher visual processing where size-, location-, and identity-invariant face views are represented.

Pretraining Cortical Thickness Predicts Subsequent Perceptual Learning Rate in a Visual Search Task

“…This is consistent with a large literature describing a wide variety of perceptual learning effects (e.g., Ball and Sekuler 1982;Karni and Sagi 1991;Fahle and Edelman 1993;Watanabe et al 2002;Jastorff et al 2006;Bi et al 2010). The data show that, once acquired, these improvements were stable over the course of months (see also Ball and Sekuler 1987;Karni and Sagi 1993;Watanabe et al 2002;Bi et al 2014;Frank et al 2014).…”

“…It is usually characterized by some degree of specificity to the trained stimulus attributes including stimulus location (e.g., Ball and Sekuler 1982;Karni and Sagi 1991;Poggio et al 1992;Ahissar et al 1998;Saffell and Matthews 2003;Jastorff et al 2006;Bi et al 2010), the recruitment of stimulus-specific cortical areas (e.g., Vaina et al 1998;Schwartz et al 2002;Furmanski et al 2004;Grossman et al 2004;Song et al 2010;Bi et al 2014;Frank et al 2014), as well as stability of acquired behavioral improvements over time (e.g., Ball and Sekuler 1987;Karni and Sagi 1993;Watanabe et al 2002;Bi et al 2014;Frank et al 2014). The study of perceptual learning has the potential to provide insights into neural correlates of learning more generally.…”

The perception of a familiar face is no more than the sum of its parts

“…As such, the psychological processes that underlie face perception have been the source of a great deal of scientific interest (Farah, et al, 1998; Johnston & Edmonds, 2009). Not surprisingly, many experiments have shown that our ability to identify faces significantly improves with repeated exposure and practice (Bi, Chen, Weng, He, & Fang, 2010; de Heering & Maurer, 2013; Dolan, et al, 1997; Gold, Bennett, & Sekuler, 1999b; Gold, Sekuler, & Bennett, 2004; Hussain, Sekuler, & Bennett, 2009, 2011). But what is the nature of the underlying psychological changes that take place as faces become more familiar to us?…”

Left-view sequences of faces are superior to right-view ones for view generalization

“…The LVSS is independent of test viewpoints, and thus cannot be explained by the perceptual experience hypothesis, which predicts left superiority only for same views, because perceptual learning effects (or perceptual advantage) do not transfer to novel orientations and viewpoints (Bi et al, 2010;Freedman et al, 2006;Sigman & Gilbert, 2000). The LVSS cannot easily be explained by the facial asymmetry either.…”

“…The perceptual experience hypothesis predicts LVS, whatever the side of the studying sequence. However, we should not obtain an LVSS independently of test viewpoints, because perceptual experience effects are strongly specific to the orientation and viewpoint of the object, and do not transfer to novel 754 ARNOLD, BÉ CUE, SIÉ ROFF viewpoints (Bi, Chen, Weng, He, & Fang, 2010;Freedman, Riesenhuber, Poggio, & Miller, 2006;Sigman & Gilbert, 2000). According to the RH hypothesis, the LVSS may be independent of the test viewpoint.…”