# Mediators and Moderators of Perceptual Learning

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE · 2021 · $602,177

## Abstract

This proposal addresses fundamental issue of specificity and generality of training in the context of Perceptual
Learning (PL). PL broadly encompasses the set of mechanisms through which experience with the
environment gives rise to changes in perceptual processing. The potential broader impacts of PL are immense.
Careful research in this domain can greatly enhance our basic understanding of the perceptual systems and
the plasticity of these systems. Furthermore, translational approaches underpinned by the basic science of PL
are becoming increasingly prominent. This includes a host of emerging translational approaches for the
rehabilitation of both perceptual deficits and for cognitive training, which are believed to share cortical plasticity
mechanisms. However, while existing research provides evidence that PL approaches can improve perceptual
skills, our ability to develop effective interventions is limited by a lack of understanding of the behavioral
outcomes associated with different PL approaches. Here we suggest that to understand and maximally exploit
PL, it is necessary to know how training with different tasks and in different individuals gives rise to different
outcomes. One major obstacle to successful translation of PL is that the field to-date has been strongly driven
by “novel” and “provocative” findings demonstrated via small N studies with very few projects digging deep to
achieve robust and reliable results. In turn, not surprisingly, the field of PL, like many others in psychology, has
suffered from numerous replication challenges. Furthermore, perhaps because following in direct footsteps
runs counter to the tendencies noted above, it is surprisingly rare for different research groups to use identical
training tasks or outcome tests. This is problematic given research showing that small changes in task-
procedures can give rise to large differences in learning outcome. Here we overcome these limitations by
comparing a large number of different training tasks using common outcome measures and in a large subject
population. Each of these tasks involves a different “critical feature” for learning proposed by a given research
group. However, these tasks have never been directly compared or contrasted. The outcome of the proposed
research will be of tremendous value to both basic understanding of PL as well as how to translate PL to help
those with visual needs. We will achieve robust and reliable results by training a large sample of participants
on PL tasks and assess the outcomes via a common set of measures. We will also collect a broad assessment
of individual differences, which will provide a unique dataset that can resolve controversies in the literature and
lead to new understandings. Our proposed analytical approach tests central key hypothesis in the field,
explores the extent to which different training approaches leads to systematically different profiles of learning,
and examines how these can differ based upon the in...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10116403
- **Project number:** 5R01EY031226-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTOPHER S GREEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $602,177
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10116403

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10116403, Mediators and Moderators of Perceptual Learning (5R01EY031226-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10116403. Licensed CC0.

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