Takeo Watanabe

Reward evokes value-independent arousal and value-dependent reinforcement processing as dissociable physiological consequences

The paper dissociates reward's physiological effects into value-independent arousal and value-dependent reinforcement using pupil dilation and EEG measurements.

Unsupervised visual learning is revealed for task-irrelevant natural scenes due to reduced attentional suppression effects in visual areas

The paper shows that task-irrelevant natural scenes induce visual perceptual learning through unsupervised learning, which is not suppressed by attention, unlike artificial stimuli.

Concurrent multimodal imaging demonstrates that EEG-based excitation/inhibition balance reflects glutamate and GABA concentrations

The paper validates EEG-based E/I ratio algorithms against MRS-derived glutamate/GABA ratios, finding strong between-subject associations but weak within-subject ones.

Unconscious switching of dorsal and medial pathways for plasticity and stability during NREM and REM sleep

The paper shows that during non-REM sleep, plasticity increases in the DLPFC, while during REM sleep, stability increases in the mPFC, both related to E/I balance changes and learning outcomes.

Sleep is associated with reduction of excitatory signaling in medial prefrontal cortex

The paper shows that reduced glutamate levels, an excitatory neurotransmitter, are associated with better sleep onset in humans, while GABA levels remain stable.

First-night effect reduces the beneficial effects of sleep on visual plasticity and modifies the underlying neurochemical processes

The paper shows the first-night effect reduces sleep's benefit on visual plasticity and alters neurochemical processes during sleep.

Learning of the same task subserved by substantially different mechanisms between patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder and healthy individuals

The paper compares neuronal mechanisms of learning a visual task between patients with body dysmorphic disorder and healthy individuals, finding substantial differences in brain activation patterns.

Geometric-relationship specific transfer in visual perceptual learning

This study investigates how the geometric relationship between trained and untrained locations affects visual perceptual learning transfer, finding significant transfer occurs diagonally or along a line through the fixation point.

A neural geometry theory comprehensively explains apparently conflicting models of visual perceptual learning

This paper introduces a neural geometry theory that explains visual perceptual learning by showing neural manifold shrinkage, rather than changes in tuning curves or noise correlations, is the primary mechanism.

Only cortical prediction error signals are involved in visual learning, despite availability of subcortical prediction error signals

The paper investigates the role of midbrain and cortical prediction error signals in visual perceptual learning, finding that only cortical signals contribute to performance improvement.

Efficient learning in children with rapid GABA boosting after training

Children learn more efficiently than adults due to faster stabilization of learning with rapid GABA boosting after training.

Visual perceptual learning of a primitive feature in human V1/V2 as a result of unconscious processing, revealed by Decoded fMRI Neurofeedback (DecNef)

This study uses DecNef to show that unconscious exposure-based visual perceptual learning occurs in V1/V2 without conscious perception of motion.

Reward does not facilitate visual perceptual learning until sleep occurs

This study shows that reward during training interacts with sleep to enhance visual perceptual learning offline performance gains.

Trained-feature specific offline learning in an orientation detection task

This study shows that offline performance gains in visual perceptual learning occur for an orientation detection task, with gains specific to the trained feature and linked to sigma activity during sleep.

Reward evokes visual perceptual learning following reinforcement rules

This study investigates how reward influences visual perceptual learning by testing whether reward before or after stimulus presentation enhances learning.

The \"Locus of Learning\" Problem: Effects of Stimulus and Task Structure on Temporal Perceptual Learning

This study investigates temporal perceptual learning by comparing fixed and random interval training, finding task-specific improvements without generalization.

Perceptual learning of lesions in mammograms induced by response feedback during training

This study shows that providing both correctness and location feedback during training enhances perceptual learning for detecting mammographic lesions, which is retained six months later.

Opponent neurochemical and functional processing in NREM and REM sleep in visual learning

The paper measures neurochemical balance during sleep stages and finds NREM sleep increases plasticity for performance gains while REM sleep stabilizes learning post-training.

Causal evidence for LTP-based interference in visual learning

The paper tests the hypothesis that long-term potentiation (LTP) competition causes interference in consecutive visual learning tasks and finds that disrupting LTP in the visual cortex reduces interference.

Feature-specific awake reactivation in human V1 after visual training

The paper shows that specific visual features, like Gabor orientation, are reactivated in human V1 after visual training, and this reactivation correlates with performance improvement.