Practice makes it better: A psychophysical study of visual perceptual learning and its transfer effects on aging
Description
Previous studies on perceptual learning, acquiring a new skill through practice, appear to stimulate brain plasticity and enhance performance (Fiorentini & Berardi, 1981). The present study aimed to determine (a) whether perceptual learning can be used to compensate for age-related declines in perceptual abilities, and (b) whether the effect of perceptual learning can be transferred to untrained stimuli and subsequently improve capacity of visual working memory (VWM). We tested both healthy younger and older adults in a 3-day training session using an orientation discrimination task. A matching-to-sample psychophysical method was used to measure improvements in orientation discrimination thresholds and reaction times (RTs). Results showed that both younger and older adults improved discrimination thresholds and RTs with similar learning rates and magnitudes. Furthermore, older adults exhibited a generalization of improvements to 3 untrained orientations that were close to the training orientation and benefited more compared with younger adults from the perceptual learning as they transferred learning effects to the VWM performance. We conclude that through perceptual learning, older adults can partially counteract age-related perceptual declines, generalize the learning effect to other stimulus conditions, and further overcome the limitation of using VWM capacity to perform a perceptual task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Impact and interest:
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ID Code: | 102557 | ||
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Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||
Refereed: | Yes | ||
ORCID iD: |
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Measurements or Duration: | 12 pages | ||
Keywords: | Aging, Generalization, Perceptual learning, Visual perception, Visual working memory | ||
DOI: | 10.1037/pag0000145 | ||
ISSN: | 1939-1498 | ||
Pure ID: | 33200611 | ||
Divisions: | Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Faculty of Health Past > Institutes > Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation Current > Schools > School of Psychology & Counselling |
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Copyright Owner: | Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters | ||
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||
Deposited On: | 22 Dec 2016 04:48 | ||
Last Modified: | 22 May 2024 18:35 |
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