Learning occurs when the brain adapts through experiences, training, or instructions. Researchers from the University of Rochester, Yale, and Princeton have developed a groundbreaking method to “record” new activity patterns in the human brain, altering how it perceives new visual categories of objects without invasive procedures. In their experiments, participants learned to control image changes using only their minds, reshaping neural connections and perceptions. Scientists describe this process as “sculpting” brain activity patterns. The technique holds promise for treating psychiatric disorders and advancing brain-computer interface technology.
During the study, participants were placed in an fMRI scanner, enabling real-time observation of brain activity. They were shown abstract shapes programmed to oscillate and instructed to stop the motion using only their thoughts. The researchers had predefined specific brain activity patterns associated with the new visual categories. Using real-time neuroimaging and instant neural feedback, participants could align their brain activity with the target patterns, halting the motion. This feedback loop effectively “shaped” their neural responses toward the desired model.
Remarkably, participants stabilized the images not by visualizing the objects traditionally but by aligning with the predetermined neural template. This innovative method allowed the team to introduce new categories of objects, not by changing the categories themselves, but by altering how the brain processes them.
Participants could respond appropriately to the new categories without consciously recognizing them. According to study co-author Jonathan Cohen, a cognitive neuroscientist at Princeton, this finding suggests that implicit learning the brain’s ability to process information unconsciously, can extend to forming new neural connections.
“The participants were able to respond to the new categories of objects and behave accordingly without even being aware of the categories. This suggests that implicit learning, i.e. the brain’s ability to perceive and process information without conscious involvement, extends to the formation of new neural connections.”
The researchers argue they didn’t just teach participants but “introduced” a new category into their brains, simulating the natural learning process. The participants demonstrated a genuine perception of this artificially created category.
To incentivize participation, volunteers were rewarded with monetary prizes when they succeeded in stopping the oscillations. Over six daily sessions, some participants accumulated substantial rewards.
This discovery could revolutionize clinical practice, offering new tools for addressing neuropsychiatric disorders like depression and autism. By modifying patients’ brain activity patterns, the method could help align their neural function with typical benchmarks. Such advances open doors to innovative treatments, potentially used alone or alongside existing therapies. Moreover, this breakthrough lays the foundation for developing advanced brain-computer interfaces in the future.
