The specificity of learned associations in visuomotor and perceptual processing.

Full Abstract

Learned associations between object properties, such as weight and size, allow for quick and accurate manipulations of objects that we encounter repeatedly. This integration of learned sensory information reduces the overall computational load of our visuomotor system when interacting with familiar objects. In the laboratory, even novel associations can be quickly established after only brief training. Haffenden and Goodale in J Cogn Neurosci 12:950-964 (2000) found that learned associations between color and size affected grip scaling for manual estimations of size and visually guided grasping. But, how specific are these learned associations? In the current study, lighter-shaded "untrained" target objects were added to Haffenden and Goodale's color-size association paradigm to determine if the learned associations made by the perception and action systems are equally tolerant to within-category color changes. During perceptual estimations, training was generalized within color categories--manual estimations of size were influenced by both the trained and lighter-shaded untrained colors. In contrast, grasping was not influenced by the untrained colored blocks. These results demonstrate how the perception and action systems differ in their incorporation of learned perceptual information. In contrast to the object specific associations needed for grasping, our perceptual system is more categorical and uses generalized perceptual grouping strategies when relying on learned color information.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Desanghere, L (L); Marotta, J J (JJ);

Affiliation: Perception and Action Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, P404 Duff Roblin Bldg, 190 Dysart Rd, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada. umrhode(-atsign-)cc.umanitoba.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Experimental brain research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Expérimentation cérébrale (Exp Brain Res), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 187 (issue 4) : pp 595-601

Dates: Created 2008/05/22; Completed 2008/07/22;

PMID: 18305929, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Analysis of Variance
Association Learning - physiology
Color Perception - physiology
Female
Hand Strength - physiology
Humans

Humans
Male
Movement - physiology
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation - methods
Predictive Value of Tests
Psychomotor Performance - physiology

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.