2021 Biennial Perceptual Learning Workshop

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Project Summary This application requests funds to support the Biennial International Perceptual Learning Workshop, to be held August 15-20, 2021 in Girdwood, Alaska. Robust improvements in visual perception can be induced by practice on a variety of visual tasks. This visual perceptual learning has the potential to provide powerful insight into the organization and flexibility of the mammalian visual system. The recognition that visual perceptual learning can be clinically applied to improve visual functions with age and disease have intensified recent efforts to optimize and characterize training paradigms and standardize outcome measurements. In addition, the persistence of visual perceptual learning in the adult visual system contributes to a revision of our understanding of how the capacity for plasticity is retained in mature sensory cortices. The overall goal of this international conference is to provide a forum for discussion and debate of recent advances, long-term debates and new directions for the field of perceptual learning. This conference has become an important opportunity for individuals across the globe with expertise in perceptual learning ranging from psychophysics, neurophysiology, functional imaging, computational neuroscience, and perceptual rehabilitation to receive critical commentary of new unpublished work, and to influence and learn from each other. The meeting serves an important need as the field of perceptual learning is highly interdisciplinary and there are no other forums that bring together researchers across the many disciplines that contribute to the field. The meeting also has been successful in enhancing interactions between junior and senior investigators, providing opportunities for new collaborations and influencing subsequent work by identifying the most important issues in the field. The specific goals for the 2021 Visual Perceptual Learning Workshop are: Specific Aim 1: To highlight new and exciting developments on the frontiers of perceptual learning. Specific Aim 2: To promote communication and interactions between meeting attendees Specific Aim 3: To achieve the highest scientific quality and diversity, by optimizing a balance of gender, age, ethnicity, and nationality.