Effects of stimulus and task structure on temporal perceptual learning

The ability to discriminate sub-second intervals can be improved with practice, a process known as temporal perceptual learning (TPL). A central question in TPL is whether training improves the low-level sensory representation of a temporal interval or optimizes a set of task-specific response strategies. Here, we trained three groups of participants over five days on a single-interval temporal discrimination task using either fixed intervals (FI) or random intervals (RI). Before and after training, discrimination thresholds were also obtained on an untrained task. Our results revealed that only the FI group showed improvements with five days of training, but this learning did not generalize from the trained task to the untrained task in any group. These results highlight task-specificity in TPL and suggest that training-dependent improvements in timing ability might reflect an active reweighting of decision units, in addition to refinements in the sensory representation of a learned interval.

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