Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

We studied the impact of the trained auditory task on the pattern of behavioural improvement, and its relation tothe underlying neural mechanisms. Specifically, we asked whether training with tone retention and manipulation (workingmemory, WM) transferred to pitch discrimination and vice versa, and whether training modified the brain areas that underlietask performance. Training substantially improved performance, but did not transfer across tasks, even when using the samestimuli. Pre and post training fMRI scans revealed that WM training enhanced activity in bilateral auditory cortices, butnot in frontal areas that are initially associated with higher cognitive functions. These results suggest that training-inducedimprovement is associated with back-tracking along the reverse hierarchy in a task specific manner, as predicted by the ReverseHierarchy Theory of perceptual learning (Ahissar & Hochstein, 2004). Thus, low-level areas are recruited, but there is nogeneral upgrade in WM or in auditory skills.