Neural correlates of unconscious processing in functional magnetic resonance imaging: does brain activity contain more information than can be consciously reported?

ABSTRACT: A central question of consciousness research is which cognitive processes can occur unconsciously. To investigate this, researchers typically compare participants' ability to consciously discriminate a stimulus to their unconscious processing of the same stimulus (e.g. measured via reaction time or brain activity). If participants are not significantly different from chance in the awareness (or "direct") measure while nevertheless there is a significant effect in the processing (or "indirect") measure, researchers argue that there is no conscious processing of the stimulus, while the stimulus is nevertheless somehow processed, as indicated by the processing measure. In consequence researchers conclude that the stimulus has been processed unconsciously. Using neuroimaging techniques such as

SUBMITTER: Streicher J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12604470 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature