Visual learning by cue-dependent and cue-invariant mechanisms.

We examined learning at multiple levels of the visual system. Subjects were trained and tested on a same/different slant judgment task or a same/different curvature judgment task using simulated planar surfaces or curved surfaces defined by either stereo or monocular (texture and motion) cues. Taken as a whole, the results of four experiments are consistent with the hypothesis that learning takes place at both cue-dependent and cue-invariant levels, and that learning at these levels can have different generalization properties. If so, then cue-invariant mechanisms may mediate the transfer of learning from familiar cue conditions to novel cue conditions, thereby allowing perceptual learning to be robust and efficient. We claim that learning takes place at multiple levels of the visual system, and that a comprehensive understanding of visual perception requires a good understanding of learning at each of these levels.