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Improvement and Impairment of Visually Guided Behavior through LTP- and LTD-like Exposure-Based Visual Learning.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21549600     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Cellular studies have focused on long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) to understand requirements for persistent changes in synaptic connections [1-3]. Whereas LTP is induced through high-frequency intermittent stimulation, low-frequency stimulation evokes LTD [4]. Because of the ubiquitous efficacy of these protocols, they are considered fundamental mechanisms underlying learning. Here we adapted LTP/LTD-like protocols to visual stimulation to alter human visually guided behavior. In a change-detection task, participants reported luminance changes against distracting orientation changes. Subsequently, they were exposed to passive visual high- or low-frequency stimulation of either the relevant luminance or irrelevant orientation feature. LTP-like high-frequency protocols using luminance improved ability to detect luminance changes, whereas low-frequency LTD-like stimulation impaired performance. In contrast, LTP-like exposure of the irrelevant orientation feature impaired performance, whereas LTD-like orientation stimulation improved it. LTP-like effects were present for 10 days, whereas LTD-like effects lasted for a shorter period of time. Our data demonstrate that instead of electrically stimulating synapses, selective behavioral changes are evoked in humans by using equivalently timed visual stimulation, suggesting that both LTD- and LTP-like protocols control human behavior but that the direction of changes is determined by the feature incorporated into the stimulation protocol.
Authors:
Christian Beste; Edmund Wascher; Onur Güntürkün; Hubert R Dinse
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-5-4
Journal Detail:
Title:  Current biology : CB     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1879-0445     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-5-9     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9107782     Medline TA:  Curr Biol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Affiliation:
Abteilung Biopsychologie, Institut für Kognitive Neurowissenschaft, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany.
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