Task learning increases information redundancy of neural responses in macaque visual cortex.

Abstract

How does the brain optimize sensory information for decision-making in new tasks? One hypothesis suggests that learning reduces redundancy in neural representations to improve efficiency, whereas another, based on Bayesian inference, predicts that learning increases redundancy by distributing information across neurons. We tested these hypotheses by tracking population responses in macaque cortical area V4 as monkeys learned visual discrimination tasks. We found strong support for the Bayesian predictions: Task learning increased redundancy in neural responses over weeks of training and within single trials. This redundancy did not reduce information but instead increased the information carried by individual neurons. These insights suggest that sensory processing in the brain reflects a generative rather than discriminative inference process.