Moving in response to an unseen visual stimulus.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Whether consciousness has a causal role in voluntary movements is not clear. Backward masking blocks a stimulus from becoming conscious, but it can trigger movement in a reaction time paradigm. We hypothesize that if backward masking is used in a choice reaction time paradigm, when the visible stimulus (S2) differs from the masked stimulus (S1), the movement will often differ from conscious intent. We did such a study employing electroencephalography (EEG) to explore the brain activity associated with this effect.

Methods

Twenty healthy adults participated in a choice reaction time task with a backwardly masked stimulus and EEG. They moved right or left hand in response to the direction of an arrow. S2 was congruent or incongruent with S1. When incongruent, respons

SUBMITTER: Triggiani AI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10872446 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature