News Finding: Because the existing brain patterns likely reflect how the neurons are interconnected, the results suggest that the connectivity among neurons shapes learning.
Paper Finding: Following within-manifold perturbations, performance was impaired briefly (Extended Data Fig.
News Context: The harder-to-learn patterns were different from any of the pre-existing patterns, whereas the easier-to-learn patterns were combinations of pre-existing brain patterns. Because the existing brain patterns likely reflect how the neurons are interconnected, the results suggest that the connectivity among neurons shapes learning. Byron M. Yu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, believes this work demonstrates the utility of BCI for basic scientific studies that will eventually impact people's lives.
Paper Context: First, perturbation types differed in their after-effects. Following within-manifold perturbations, performance was impaired briefly (Extended Data Fig. Following outside-manifold perturbations, performance was not impaired, which is consistent with little, if any, learning having occurred (Extended Data Fig.