January 15th, 2025

Sculpting New Visual Categories into the Human Brain
Traditionally, humans acquire visual knowledge through experience, study, or instruction. However, a groundbreaking study by Iordan et al., published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December 2024, introduces an innovative method: directly sculpting activity patterns in the human brain to form new visual categories without explicit awareness.
The Study
The researchers employed closed-loop real-time functional MRI (fMRI) neurofeedback to noninvasively create new categories of visual objects in participants' brains. This technique involved monitoring participants' brain activity in real-time and providing feedback to encourage the formation of specific neural patterns associated with new visual categories.
Key Findings

• Neural Sculpting: Participants developed distinct neural representations for the new visual categories without conscious awareness.
  
• Behavioral Changes: Post-training, participants exhibited behavioral biases aligned with the newly formed categories, indicating that the neural changes influenced perception.
  
• Implications for Learning: This method demonstrates that it's possible to induce perceptual distinctions in the human brain directly, offering a novel paradigm for studying the causal link between neural representations and behavior.
  

Broader Implications
Beyond visual perception, this technique holds potential for advancing our understanding of various cognitive domains, including decision-making, memory, and motor control. By directly manipulating neural activity patterns, researchers can explore the underlying neural mechanisms of these complex processes in a controlled and noninvasive manner.

Conclusion
The study represents a significant advance in cognitive neuroscience, illustrating neurofeedback's ability to directly shape neural activity to form new visual categories and behaviors. This approach opens new avenues for research into the neural basis of perception and cognition, with potential applications in enhancing learning and rehabilitation strategies. These findings also provides further evidence for photonic stimulation's potential to influence neurophysiological and neurocognitive activity given its nutritive, neuroprotective, and neuromodulatory effects.
For more detailed information, refer to the full article: Iordan CR, Ritvo VJH, Norman KA, Turk-Browne NB, Cohen JD. Sculpting new visual categories into the human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Dec 10;121(50):e2410445121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2410445121. Epub 2024 Dec 3. PMID: 39625982; PMCID: PMC11648923. citeturn0search0

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