This paper, now published as a peer-reviewed preprint in eLife, investigates how GABAergic processing in parietal cortex contributes to goal-directed visual information processing.
Wang Z, Wiborg S, Wittmann A, Beck N, Hirschle S, Aschenbrenner D, Becker M, Frank SM (2026). Goal-directed visual information processing with GABAergic inhibition in parietal cortex. eLife. https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/109344 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
The neural mechanisms facilitating the occurrence of learning have been widely studied. In this paper, we shed light on the other side of the coin by asking whether there are neural mechanisms that suppress learning from occurring and where these mechanisms have their effects in the brain. We find evidence suggesting that a gating mechanism exists in early visual cortex that acts to suppress learning by downregulating excitatory processing.
Becker M, Babu S, Wang Z, Frank SM (2025). Suppression of task-irrelevant learning achieved through withdrawal of excitation in early sensory areas. Cerebral Cortex, 35(12), bhaf333:1-14. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf333 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)
The experimental study of learning commenced with the groundbreaking work of Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann in the 19th century. In this review article, I present some of his original findings and discuss them in the context of recent studies on tactile perceptual learning.
Frank SM (2025). Transfer of tactile learning to untrained body parts: emerging cortical mechanisms. The Neuroscientist, 31(1):98-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/10738584241256277 (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster)