Plasticity of the primary visual cortex and mechanisms of perceptual learning

The review explores current insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of visual perceptual learning. It provides evidences that perceptual learning is underlaid by long-term synaptic plasticity occurring within the neural networks of the primary visual cortex. Key models of perceptual learning in animals, including stimulus-dependent plasticity and reinforcement learning, are analyzed. Furthermore, the review provides a rationale for the use of the visual cortex, particularly in rodents, as a convenient model for investigating general mechanisms of learning and memory in vivo. Using this approach, the role of homo- and heterosynaptic plasticity in long-term modifications of sensory responses in the visual cortex was convincingly demonstrated. The data obtained on the model of plasticity of visual responses can be extrapolated to general mechanisms of learning and memory, including those beyond perceptual learning.