Early stage of radiological expertise modulates resting-state local coherence in the inferior temporal lobe

Background The visual system and its inherent functions undergo experience-dependent changes through the lifespan,enabling acquisition of new skills.Previous fMRI studies using tasks reported increased specialization in a number of cortical regions subserving visual expertise.Although ample studies focused on representation of long-term visual expertise in the brain,i.e.in terms of year,monthly-based early-stage representation of visual expertise remains unstudied.Given that spontaneous neuronal oscillations actively encode previous experience,we propose brain representations in the resting state is fundamentally important.Objective The current study aimed to investigate how monthly-based early-stage visual expertise are represented in the resting state using the expertise model of radiologists.Methods In particular,we investigated the altered local clustering pattern of spontaneous brain activity using regional homogeneity(ReHo).A cohort group of radiology interns(n=22)after one-month training in X-ray department and matched laypersons(n=22)were recruited after rigorous behavioral assessment.Results The results showed higher ReHo in the right hippocampus(HIP)and the right ventral anterior temporal lobe(vATL)(corrected by Alphasim correction,P<0.05).Moreover,ReHo in the right HIP correlated with the number of cases reviewed during intern radiologists’training(corrected by Alphasim correction,P<0.05).Conclusions In sum,our results demonstrated that the early stage of visual expertise is more concerned with stabilizing visual feature and domain-specific knowledge into long-term memory.The results provided novel evidence regarding how early-stage visual expertise is represented in the resting brain,which help further elaborate how human visual expertise is acquired.We propose that our current study may provide novel ideas for developing new training protocols in medical schools.

The early development of face processing——What makes faces special?

In the present article we review behavioral and neurophysiological studies on face processing in adults and in early development. From the existing empirical and theoretical literature we derive three aspects that distinguish face processing from the processing of other visual object categories. Each of these aspects is discussed from a developmental perspective. First, faces are recognized and represented at the individual level rather than at the basic level. Second, humans typically acquire extensive expertise in individuating faces from early on in development. And third, more than other objects, faces are processed holistically. There is a quantitative difference in the amount of visual experience for faces and other object categories in that the amount of expertise typically acquired for faces is greater than that for other object categories. In addition, we discuss possible qualitative differences in experience for faces and objects. For instance, there is evidence for a sensitive period in infancy for building up a holistic face representation and for perceptual narrowing for faces of one＇s own species and race. We conclude our literature review with questions for future research, for instance, regarding the exact relationship between behavioral and neuronal markers of face processing across development.