About this Research Topic
The inferior temporal cortex ('IT') sits at the apex of the ventral visual stream - the neural pathway that specializes in the processing of object identity. IT receives dense anatomical inputs from visual areas V4 and V2 and sends projections to the perirhinal cortex, medial temporal lobe, frontal cortex, and many subcortical regions. Neurons in IT tend to have narrow tuning for complex conjunctions of features, and their response properties are stable across multiple presentations of the same stimulus. These observations are consistent with a critical role of IT in object perception. However, IT has also been shown to be critical for several forms of visual object memory, in fact, it has been demonstrated that the activity of neurons in this region can be modulated during learning.
Despite the growing body of literature demonstrating a role for subregions of the inferior temporal cortex in the learning of tasks that place demands on visual memory, relatively little is known about how the specific mechanisms via which neuronal activity in these regions subserves the behavioral functions attributed to them. Large-scale multielectrode recording and high-resolution fMRI methods have created opportunities to better probe these mechanisms, and, in conjunction with methods for modulating neural activity (such as pharmacology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and transcranial magnetic stimulation), make it feasible to assess the causal link between neural activity and behavioural outcomes. We seek to curate a collection of articles that demonstrate the neural correlates of visual learning and object representation in IT.
In particular, on this Research Topic, we welcome submissions from the following, but not limited to, subthemes:
• Neural mechanisms supporting visual learning and visual object representation in the inferior temporal cortex (IT) and connected regions.
• Modulation of neuronal activity during learning and its implications for visual object perception, recognition, categorization/generalization, stimulus-reward association, and other processes related to visual processing.
• Techniques for modulating neural activity in IT.
This collection focuses on primary research performed using nonhuman primates, however, studies evaluating inter-species differences/similarities in the mechanisms supporting visual learning/object representation between nonhuman primates and humans are also of interest.
Despite the growing body of literature demonstrating a role for subregions of the inferior temporal cortex in the learning of tasks that place demands on visual memory, relatively little is known about how the specific mechanisms via which neuronal activity in these regions subserves the behavioral functions attributed to them. Large-scale multielectrode recording and high-resolution fMRI methods have created opportunities to better probe these mechanisms, and, in conjunction with methods for modulating neural activity (such as pharmacology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and transcranial magnetic stimulation), make it feasible to assess the causal link between neural activity and behavioural outcomes. We seek to curate a collection of articles that demonstrate the neural correlates of visual learning and object representation in IT.
In particular, on this Research Topic, we welcome submissions from the following, but not limited to, subthemes:
• Neural mechanisms supporting visual learning and visual object representation in the inferior temporal cortex (IT) and connected regions.
• Modulation of neuronal activity during learning and its implications for visual object perception, recognition, categorization/generalization, stimulus-reward association, and other processes related to visual processing.
• Techniques for modulating neural activity in IT.
This collection focuses on primary research performed using nonhuman primates, however, studies evaluating inter-species differences/similarities in the mechanisms supporting visual learning/object representation between nonhuman primates and humans are also of interest.
Keywords: Vision, Learning, Object Recognition, Memory, Categorization, Nonhuman primate, Monkey, Electrophysiology, fMRI, Inferior temporal cortex, Area TE, Area TEO.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
