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Schräder J, Herzberg L, Jo HG, Hernandez-Pena L, Koch J, Habel U, Wagels L. Neurophysiological Pathways of Unconscious Emotion Processing in Depression: Insights from a simultaneous EEG-fMRI Measurement. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00193-9. [PMID: 39038607 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2024] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by strong emotional dysregulation. Mechanisms driving the negative affect in depression may be fast processes existing on an unconscious level. METHODS A priming task was conducted using simultaneous EEG-fMRI measurement involving presentation of facial expressions (happy, sad, neutral) to examine the neurophysiological pathway of biased unconscious emotion processing in MDD. Priming prior to a target emotion created unconscious (16.7 ms primer) and conscious (150 ms primer) trials. A large sample of N = 126 was recruited, containing healthy controls (HC; n = 66; 37 women) and MDD (n = 60; 31 women). RESULTS HC showed a shorter reaction time in happy, but not in sad or neutral trials compared to MDD. N170 amplitudes were lower in trials with unconscious compared to conscious primer presentation. N170 amplitudes correlated with cortical (right fusiform gyrus (FFG), right middle temporal gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, left supplementary motor area, right middle frontal gyrus) and subcortical brain regions (right amygdala). The strength of N170 and brain activity correlation increased when the stimulus was consciously presented. Presented emotions did not affect the correlation of N170 values and brain activity. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show that MDD may exhibit biased emotion regulation abilities at a behavioral and neurophysiological level. Face-sensitive event-related potentials demonstrate a correlation with heightened brain activity in regions associated with both face recognition (FFG) and emotion processing (amygdala). These findings are evident in both MDD and HC, with lower effect sizes in MDD indicating reduced emotion recognition and processing abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Schräder
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
| | - Lennard Herzberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany
| | - Han-Gue Jo
- School of Software, Kunsan National University, 588 Daehak-ro Gunsan, South Korea
| | - Lucia Hernandez-Pena
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Julia Koch
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen, [Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen], Germany; Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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2
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Maffei A, Gambarota F, Liotti M, Dell'Acqua R, Tsuchiya N, Sessa P. Conscious perception of fear in faces: Insights from high-density EEG and perceptual awareness scale with threshold stimuli. Cortex 2024; 174:93-109. [PMID: 38493568 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Contrary to the extensive research on processing subliminal and/or unattended emotional facial expressions, only a minority of studies have investigated the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) of emotions conveyed by faces. In the present high-density electroencephalography (EEG) study, we first employed a staircase procedure to identify each participant's perceptual threshold of the emotion expressed by the face and then compared the EEG signals elicited in trials where the participants were aware with the activity elicited in trials where participants were unaware of the emotions expressed by these, otherwise identical, faces. Drawing on existing knowledge of the neural mechanisms of face processing and NCCs, we hypothesized that activity in frontal electrodes would be modulated in relation to participants' awareness of facial emotional content. More specifically, we hypothesized that the NCC of fear seen on someone else's face could be detected as a modulation of a later and more anterior (i.e., at frontal sites) event-related potential (ERP) than the face-sensitive N170. By adopting a data-driven approach and cluster-based statistics to the analysis of EEG signals, the results were clear-cut in showing that visual awareness of fear was associated with the modulation of a frontal ERP component in a 150-300 msec interval. These insights are dissected and contextualized in relation to prevailing theories of visual consciousness and their proposed NCC benchmarks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Maffei
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Filippo Gambarota
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mario Liotti
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Dell'Acqua
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Naotsugu Tsuchiya
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health & School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan; Laboratory Head, Laboratory of Qualia Structure, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, Japan.
| | - Paola Sessa
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
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Civile C, Waguri E, McLaren I. Using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to selectively modulate the face inversion effect and N170 event-related potentials. Perception 2024; 53:125-142. [PMID: 38018085 PMCID: PMC10798030 DOI: 10.1177/03010066231215909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
We report a large study (n = 72) using combined transcranial direct current stimulation-electroencephalography (tDCS-EEG) to investigate the modulation of perceptual learning indexed by the face inversion effect. Participants were engaged with an old/new recognition task involving intermixed upright and inverted, normal and Thatcherized faces. The accuracy results showed anodal tDCS delivered at the Fp3 scalp area (cathode/reference electrode placed at Fp2) increased the behavioural inversion effect for normal faces versus sham/control and this covaried with a modulation of the N170 event-related potential component. A reduced inversion effect for normal faces was found on the N170 latency and amplitude versus sham/control, extending recent work that combined tDCS and EEG in circumstances where the behavioural face inversion effect was reduced. Our results advance understanding of the neural mechanisms responsible for perceptual learning by revealing a dissociation between the N170 amplitude and latency in response to the tDCS-induced modulation of the face inversion effect. The behavioural modulation of the inversion effect tracks the modulation of the N170 amplitudes, albeit it is negatively correlated (i.e., reduced inversion effect-larger N170 amplitude inversion effect, increased inversion effect-reduced N170 amplitude inversion effect). For the N170 latencies, the inversion effect is reduced by the tDCS protocol we use irrespective of any modulation of the behavioural inversion effect.
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4
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Pietto ML, Giovannetti F, Segretin MS, Lipina SJ, Kamienkowski JE. EEG Dynamics of Error Processing and Associated Behavioral Adjustments in Preschool Children. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13040575. [PMID: 37190540 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13040575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Preschool children show neural responses and make behavioral adjustments immediately following an error. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding how neural responses to error predict subsequent behavioral adjustments during childhood. The aim of our study was to explore the neural dynamics of error processing and associated behavioral adjustments in preschool children from unsatisfied basic needs (UBN) homes. Using EEG recordings during a go/no-go task, we examined within-subject associations between the error-related negativity (ERN), frontal theta power, post-error slowing, and post-error accuracy. Post-error accuracy increased linearly with post-error slowing, and there was no association between the neural activity of error processing and post-error accuracy. However, during successful error recovery, the frontal theta power, but not the ERN amplitude, was associated positively with post-error slowing. These findings indicated that preschool children from UBN homes adjusted their behavior following an error in an adaptive form and that the error-related theta activity may be associated with the adaptive forms of post-error behavior. Furthermore, our data support the adaptive theory of post-error slowing and point to some degree of separation between the neural mechanisms represented by the ERN and theta.
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Mermillod M, Perrier MJ, Lacroix A, Kauffmann L, Peyrin C, Méot A, Vermeulen N, Dutheil F. High spatial frequencies disrupt conscious visual recognition: evidence from an attentional blink paradigm. Heliyon 2022; 8:e11964. [PMID: 36561662 PMCID: PMC9763755 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, we tested the respective importance of low spatial frequencies (LSF) and high spatial frequencies (HSF) for conscious visual recognition of emotional stimuli by using an attentional blink paradigm. Thirty-eight participants were asked to identify and report two targets (happy faces) embedded in a rapid serial visual presentation of distractors (angry faces). During attentional blink, conscious perception of the second target (T2) is usually altered when the lag between the two targets is short (200-500 ms) but is restored at longer lags. The distractors between T1 and T2 were either non-filtered (broad spatial frequencies, BSF), low-pass filtered (LSF), or high-pass filtered (HSF). Assuming that prediction abilities could be at the root of conscious visual recognition, we expected that LSF distractors could result in a greater disturbance of T2 reporting than HSF distractors. Results showed that both LSF and HSF play a role in the emergence of exogenous consciousness in the visual system. Furthermore, HSF distractors strongly affected T1 and T2 reporting irrespective of the lag between targets, suggesting their role for facial emotion processing. We discuss these results with regards to other models of visual recognition. .
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Affiliation(s)
- Martial Mermillod
- LPNC, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 38000, Grenoble, France,Corresponding author.
| | | | - Adeline Lacroix
- LPNC, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Louise Kauffmann
- LPNC, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Carole Peyrin
- LPNC, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Alain Méot
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Nicolas Vermeulen
- Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium,Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS-FRS), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Frédéric Dutheil
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Roth-Paysen ML, Bröcker A, Bruchmann M, Straube T. Early and late electrophysiological correlates of gradual perceptual awareness in- and outside the Attentional Blink window. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119652. [PMID: 36167269 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) in the attentional blink (AB). Theoretical accounts propose that NCC during the attentional blink occur late in the processing hierarchy and that this quality is specific to the AB. We investigated this question by recording event-related potentials during an AB experiment with faces as T2. We analyzed ERPs to T2 stimuli inside (short lag) and outside (long lag) the AB window after carefully calibrating T2 stimuli to ensure equal visibility ratings across lags. We found that the N170, the visual awareness negativity (VAN), and the P3b showed an increased amplitude for seen compared to unseen face stimuli regardless of stimulus lag and that all these components scale linearly with subjective visibility. These findings suggest similar early and late mechanisms of graded perceptual awareness within and outside the AB across perceptual (N170, VAN) and post-perceptual (P3b) processing stages.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anne Bröcker
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany.
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Germany
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7
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Dehaghani NS, Maess B, Khosrowabadi R, Lashgari R, Braeutigam S, Zarei M. Pre-stimulus Alpha Activity Modulates Face and Object Processing in the Intra-Parietal Sulcus, a MEG Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:831781. [PMID: 35585993 PMCID: PMC9108229 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.831781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Face perception is crucial in all social animals. Recent studies have shown that pre-stimulus oscillations of brain activity modulate the perceptual performance of face vs. non-face stimuli, specifically under challenging conditions. However, it is unclear if this effect also occurs during simple tasks, and if so in which brain regions. Here we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a 1-back task in which participants decided if the two sequentially presented stimuli were the same or not in each trial. The aim of the study was to explore the effect of pre-stimulus alpha oscillation on the perception of face (human and monkey) and non-face stimuli. Our results showed that pre-stimulus activity in the left occipital face area (OFA) modulated responses in the intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) at around 170 ms after the presentation of human face stimuli. This effect was also found after participants were shown images of motorcycles. In this case, the IPS was modulated by pre-stimulus activity in the right OFA and the right fusiform face area (FFA). We conclude that pre-stimulus modulation of post-stimulus response also occurs during simple tasks and is therefore independent of behavioral responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narjes Soltani Dehaghani
- Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
- Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Burkhard Maess
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Reza Khosrowabadi
- Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Reza Lashgari
- Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sven Braeutigam
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Mojtaba Zarei
- Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Neurology, Odense University Hospital, and Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- *Correspondence: Mojtaba Zarei
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8
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Abnormal EEG Signal Energy in the Elderly: A Wavelet Analysis of Event-related Potentials During a Stroop Task. J Neurosci Methods 2022; 376:109608. [PMID: 35487316 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous work showed that elderly with excess in theta activity in their resting state electroencephalogram (EEG) are at higher risk of cognitive decline than those with a normal EEG. By using event-related potentials (ERP) during a counting Stroop task, our prior work showed that elderly with theta excess have a large P300 component compared with normal EEG group. This increased activity could be related to a higher EEG signal energy used during this task. NEW METHOD By wavelet analysis applied to ERP obtained during a counting Stroop task we quantified the energy in the different frequency bands of a group of elderly with altered EEG. RESULTS In theta and alpha bands, the total energy was higher in elderly subjects with theta excess, specifically in the stimulus categorization window (258-516 ms). Both groups solved the task with similar efficiency. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS The traditional ERP analysis in elderly compares voltage among conditions and groups for a given time windows, while the frequency composition is not usually examined. We complemented our previous ERP analysis using a wavelet methodology. Furthermore, we showed the advantages of wavelet analysis over Short Time Fourier Transform when exploring EEG signal during this task. CONCLUSIONS The higher EEG signal energy in ERP might reflect undergoing neurobiological mechanisms that allow the elderly with theta excess to cope with the cognitive task with similar behavioral results as the normal EEG group. This increased energy could promote a metabolic and cellular dysregulation causing a greater decline in cognitive function.
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9
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Weik E, Virji-Babul N, Ribary U, Tipper C. A matter of perspective: Distinct brain mechanisms for evaluating positive and negative social feedback about oneself and another person. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:193-208. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2058081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ella Weik
- Department of Psychiatry, Bc Mental Health and Substance Use Services, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Naznin Virji-Babul
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Urs Ribary
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Bc Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Christine Tipper
- Department of Psychiatry, Bc Mental Health and Substance Use Services, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Jin H, Hayward WG, Corballis PM. All-or-none neural mechanisms underlying face categorization: evidence from the N170. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:777-793. [PMID: 35288746 PMCID: PMC9890453 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Categorization of visual stimuli is an intrinsic aspect of human perception. Whether the cortical mechanisms underlying categorization operate in an all-or-none or graded fashion remains unclear. In this study, we addressed this issue in the context of the face-specific N170. Specifically, we investigated whether N170 amplitudes grade with the amount of face information available in an image, or a full response is generated whenever a face is perceived. We employed linear mixed-effects modeling to inspect the dependency of N170 amplitudes on stimulus properties and duration, and their relationships to participants' subjective perception. Consistent with previous studies, we found a stronger N170 evoked by faces presented for longer durations. However, further analysis with equivalence tests revealed that this duration effect was eliminated when only faces perceived with high confidence were considered. Therefore, previous evidence supporting the graded hypothesis is more likely to be an artifact of mixing heterogeneous "all" and "none" trial types in signal averaging. These results support the hypothesis that the N170 is generated in an all-or-none manner and, by extension, suggest that categorization of faces may follow a similar pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Jin
- Corresponding author: Haiyang Jin, Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
| | - William G Hayward
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Centennial Campus, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Paul M Corballis
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand,Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
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Qiu Z, Becker SI, Pegna AJ. Spatial Attention Shifting to Emotional Faces is Contingent on Awareness and Task Relevancy. Cortex 2022; 151:30-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Rekow D, Baudouin JY, Brochard R, Rossion B, Leleu A. Rapid neural categorization of facelike objects predicts the perceptual awareness of a face (face pareidolia). Cognition 2022; 222:105016. [PMID: 35030358 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The human brain rapidly and automatically categorizes faces vs. other visual objects. However, whether face-selective neural activity predicts the subjective experience of a face - perceptual awareness - is debated. To clarify this issue, here we use face pareidolia, i.e., the illusory perception of a face, as a proxy to relate the neural categorization of a variety of facelike objects to conscious face perception. In Experiment 1, scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) is recorded while pictures of human faces or facelike objects - in different stimulation sequences - are interleaved every second (i.e., at 1 Hz) in a rapid 6-Hz train of natural images of nonface objects. Participants do not perform any explicit face categorization task during stimulation, and report whether they perceived illusory faces post-stimulation. A robust categorization response to facelike objects is identified at 1 Hz and harmonics in the EEG frequency spectrum with a facelike occipito-temporal topography. Across all individuals, the facelike categorization response is of about 20% of the response to human faces, but more strongly right-lateralized. Critically, its amplitude is much larger in participants who report having perceived illusory faces. In Experiment 2, facelike or matched nonface objects from the same categories appear at 1 Hz in sequences of nonface objects presented at variable stimulation rates (60 Hz to 12 Hz) and participants explicitly report after each sequence whether they perceived illusory faces. The facelike categorization response already emerges at the shortest stimulus duration (i.e., 17 ms at 60 Hz) and predicts the behavioral report of conscious perception. Strikingly, neural facelike-selectivity emerges exclusively when participants report illusory faces. Collectively, these experiments characterize a neural signature of face pareidolia in the context of rapid categorization, supporting the view that face-selective brain activity reliably predicts the subjective experience of a face from a single glance at a variety of stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diane Rekow
- Laboratoire Éthologie Développementale et Psychologie Cognitive, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, AgroSup Dijon, F-21000 Dijon, France.
| | - Jean-Yves Baudouin
- Laboratoire Développement, Individu, Processus, Handicap, Éducation (DIPHE), Département Psychologie du Développement, de l'Éducation et des Vulnérabilités (PsyDÉV), Institut de psychologie, Université de Lyon (Lumière Lyon 2), 69676 Bron, cedex, France
| | - Renaud Brochard
- Laboratoire Éthologie Développementale et Psychologie Cognitive, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, AgroSup Dijon, F-21000 Dijon, France
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN, F-54000 Nancy, France; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, F-54000 Nancy, France
| | - Arnaud Leleu
- Laboratoire Éthologie Développementale et Psychologie Cognitive, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS, Inrae, AgroSup Dijon, F-21000 Dijon, France.
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Bachmann T. Representational 'touch' and modulatory 'retouch'-two necessary neurobiological processes in thalamocortical interaction for conscious experience. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab045. [PMID: 34925911 PMCID: PMC8672242 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of consciousness using neurobiological data or being influenced by these data have been focused either on states of consciousness or contents of consciousness. These theories have occasionally used evidence from psychophysical phenomena where conscious experience is a dependent experimental variable. However, systematic catalog of many such relevant phenomena has not been offered in terms of these theories. In the perceptual retouch theory of thalamocortical interaction, recently developed to become a blend with the dendritic integration theory, consciousness states and contents of consciousness are explained by the same mechanism. This general-purpose mechanism has modulation of the cortical layer-5 pyramidal neurons that represent contents of consciousness as its core. As a surplus, many experimental psychophysical phenomena of conscious perception can be explained by the workings of this mechanism. Historical origins and current views inherent in this theory are presented and reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talis Bachmann
- Department of Penal Law, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Law, University of Tartu (Tallinn Branch), Kaarli puiestee 3, Tallinn 10119, Estonia
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14
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Luo C, Chen W, VanRullen R, Zhang Y, Gaspar CM. Nudging the N170 forward with prior stimulation-Bridging the gap between N170 and recognition potential. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 43:1214-1230. [PMID: 34786780 PMCID: PMC8837586 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Evoked response potentials are often divided up into numerous components, each with their own body of literature. But is there less variety than we might suppose? In this study, we nudge one component into looking like another. Both the N170 and recognition potential (RP) are N1 components in response to familiar objects. However, the RP is often measured with a forward mask that ends at stimulus onset whereas the N170 is often measured with no masking at all. This study investigates how inter‐stimulus interval (ISI) may delay and distort the N170 into an RP by manipulating the temporal gap (ISI) between forward mask and target. The results revealed reverse relationships between the ISI on the one hand, and the N170 latency, single‐trial N1 jitter (an approximation of N1 width) and reaction time on the other hand. Importantly, we find that scalp topographies have a unique signature at the N1 peak across all conditions, from the longest gap (N170) to the shortest (RP). These findings prove that the mask‐delayed N1 is still the same N170, even under conditions that are normally associated with a different component like the RP. In general, our results suggest greater synthesis in the study of event related potential components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canhuang Luo
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Université de Toulouse, UPS, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Toulouse, France.,CerCo, CNRS UMR 5549, Toulouse, France
| | - Wei Chen
- Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Rufin VanRullen
- Université de Toulouse, UPS, Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Toulouse, France.,CerCo, CNRS UMR 5549, Toulouse, France
| | - Ye Zhang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China
| | - Carl Michael Gaspar
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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15
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Revach D, Salti M. Expanding the discussion: Revision of the fundamental assumptions framing the study of the neural correlates of consciousness. Conscious Cogn 2021; 96:103229. [PMID: 34749156 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 10/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The way one asks a question is shaped by a-priori assumptions and constrains the range of possible answers. We identify and test the assumptions underlying contemporary debates, models, and methodology in the study of the neural correlates of consciousness, which was framed by Crick and Koch's seminal paper (1990). These premises create a sequential and passive conception of conscious perception: it is considered the product of resolved information processing by unconscious mechanisms, produced by a singular event in time and place representing the moment of entry. The conscious percept produced is then automatically retained to be utilized by post-conscious mechanisms. Major debates in the field, such as concern the moment of entry, the all-or-none vs graded nature, and report vs no-report paradigms, are driven by the consensus on these assumptions. We show how removing these assumptions can resolve some of the debates and challenges and prompt additional questions. The potential non-sequential nature of perception suggests new ways of thinking about consciousness as a dynamic and dispersed process, and in turn about the relationship between conscious and unconscious perception. Moreover, it allows us to present a parsimonious account for conscious perception while addressing more aspects of the phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Revach
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel.
| | - Moti Salti
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
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16
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Conflict-Related Brain Activity after Individualized Cognitive Training in Preschoolers from Poor Homes. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41465-021-00223-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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17
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Dellert T, Müller-Bardorff M, Schlossmacher I, Pitts M, Hofmann D, Bruchmann M, Straube T. Dissociating the Neural Correlates of Consciousness and Task Relevance in Face Perception Using Simultaneous EEG-fMRI. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7864-7875. [PMID: 34301829 PMCID: PMC8445054 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2799-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Current theories of visual consciousness disagree about whether it emerges during early stages of processing in sensory brain regions or later when a widespread frontoparietal network becomes involved. Moreover, disentangling conscious perception from task-related postperceptual processes (e.g., report) and integrating results across different neuroscientific methods remain ongoing challenges. The present study addressed these problems using simultaneous EEG-fMRI and a specific inattentional blindness paradigm with three physically identical phases in female and male human participants. In phase 1, participants performed a distractor task during which line drawings of faces and control stimuli were presented centrally. While some participants spontaneously noticed the faces in phase 1, others remained inattentionally blind. In phase 2, all participants were made aware of the task-irrelevant faces but continued the distractor task. In phase 3, the faces became task-relevant. Bayesian analysis of brain responses demonstrated that conscious face perception was most strongly associated with activation in fusiform gyrus (fMRI) as well as the N170 and visual awareness negativity (EEG). Smaller awareness effects were revealed in the occipital and prefrontal cortex (fMRI). Task-relevant face processing, on the other hand, led to strong, extensive activation of occipitotemporal, frontoparietal, and attentional networks (fMRI). In EEG, it enhanced early negativities and elicited a pronounced P3b component. Overall, we provide evidence that conscious visual perception is linked with early processing in stimulus-specific sensory brain areas but may additionally involve prefrontal cortex. In contrast, the strong activation of widespread brain networks and the P3b are more likely associated with task-related processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT How does our brain generate visual consciousness-the subjective experience of what it is like to see, for example, a face? To date, it is hotly debated whether it emerges early in sensory brain regions or later when a widespread frontoparietal network is activated. Here, we use simultaneous fMRI and EEG for high spatial and temporal resolution and demonstrate that conscious face perception is predominantly linked to early and occipitotemporal processes, but also prefrontal activity. Task-related processes (e.g., decision-making), on the other hand, elicit brain-wide activations including late and strong frontoparietal activity. These findings challenge numerous previous studies and highlight the importance of investigating the neural correlates of consciousness in the absence of task relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torge Dellert
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Miriam Müller-Bardorff
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Insa Schlossmacher
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Michael Pitts
- Department of Psychology, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202
| | - David Hofmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Maximilian Bruchmann
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Straube
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
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18
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Perceptual awareness negativity: a physiological correlate of sensory consciousness. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:660-670. [PMID: 34172384 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Much research on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) has focused on two evoked potentials, the P3b and the visual or auditory awareness negativity (VAN, AAN). Surveying a broad range of recent experimental evidence, we find that repeated failures to observe the P3b during conscious perception eliminate it as a putative NCC. Neither the VAN nor the AAN have been dissociated from consciousness; furthermore, a similar neural signal correlates with tactile consciousness. These awareness negativities can be maximal contralateral to the evoking stimulus, are likely generated in underlying sensory cortices, and point to the existence of a generalized perceptual awareness negativity (PAN) reflecting the onset of sensory consciousness.
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19
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Ahmadi M, Schoenfeld MA, Hillyard SA, Quian Quiroga R. A simple metric to study the mechanisms generating event-related potentials. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 360:109230. [PMID: 34052290 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is an active debate about the mechanism underlying the generation of event-related potentials, and, particularly, whether these are generated by additive components, independent of the background EEG, or the phase-resetting of ongoing oscillations. METHOD We present a new metric to evaluate trial-by-trial covariations of successive ERP components. Our main assumption is that if two successive ERP components are generated by phase-resetting of a unitary oscillation, they should be time-locked to each other and their single-trial latencies should covary. In contrast, if the components are generated by independent additive components, single-trial latency covariations should not be observed. To quantify the covariance between the single-trial latencies, we define a metric based on latency-corrected averages, which we applied to both simulated and real ERPs. RESULTS For the simulated data, there was a clear distinction in latency covariation between the ERPs generated with unitary phase-resetting versus additive models. For real visual and auditory ERPs, we observed a lack of latency covariation of successive components. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS The new metric is complementary to other approaches to study the mechanisms underlying ERP generation, and does not suffer from potential caveats due to filtering artifacts. Moreover, the method proved to be more sensitive than another estimation of single-trial latency covariations using the cross-correlation function. CONCLUSION The observed lack of latency covariation shows the presence of parallel, independent processing within each cortical sensory pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ahmadi
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Mircea Ariel Schoenfeld
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Experimental Neurology, University of Magdeburg, Germany; Kliniken Schmieder Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Steven A Hillyard
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, United States
| | - Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester, United Kingdom; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.
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20
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Caharel S, Rossion B. The N170 is Sensitive to Long-term (Personal) Familiarity of a Face Identity. Neuroscience 2021; 458:244-255. [PMID: 33460730 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.12.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The N170 is a large deflection of the human electroencephalogram (EEG), peaking at about 170 milliseconds over the occipito-temporal cortex after the sudden onset of a face stimulus. The N170 reflects perceptual awareness of a face and its onset corresponds to the emergence of reliable face-selectivity in the human brain. However, whether sensitivity to the long-term familiarity of a face identity emerges already at this early time-point remains debated. Here we provide a brief survey of the 45 published studies comparing the N170 response to unfamiliar and familiar (famous, experimentally familiarized, personally familiar and own) faces. Even though effects of familiarity on the N170 are relatively small and inconsistent across studies, this overview indicates that face familiarity significantly increases the N170 amplitude. This effect is especially present for personally familiar faces, learned in natural conditions. In the human brain, effects linked to familiarity with specific facial identities therefore appear to emerge between 150 and 200 ms in occipito-temporal brain regions, i.e., shortly after the onset of face-selectivity but at the same time as the earliest high-level effects of immediate unfamiliar face identity repetition. This observation challenges standard neurocognitive models with a clear-cut distinction between perceptual and memory stages in human face recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stéphanie Caharel
- Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire Lorrain de Psychologie et Neurosciences (2LPN - EA 7489), Nancy F-54000, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris F-75000, France
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN, F-54000 Nancy, France; CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, F-54000, France.
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21
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Lai C, Pellicano GR, Ciacchella C, Guidobaldi L, Altavilla D, Cecchini M, Begotaraj E, Aceto P, Luciani M. Neurophysiological correlates of emotional face perception consciousness. Neuropsychologia 2020; 146:107554. [PMID: 32652090 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Aim of the present study was to investigate the neurophysiologic correlates of the conscious and not conscious perception of faces (presented for 14, 40, 80 ms) with happy and sad emotional valence. Electroencephalographic data of 22 participants during a report-based visual task were recorded. Both happy and sad faces presented for 14 ms showed a longer N170 latency compared to the faces presented for 40 and 80 ms. A shorter latency of early components (before N170) was found in the right hemisphere and a longer latency in the left one in response to the happy faces presented for 14 ms compared to those presented for longer times. The faces presented for 14 ms, declared as consciously perceived, evoked a higher brain response compared to those declared as not perceived. Parietal and cingulate brain areas showed a lower intensity of the brain response to the consciously perceived faces in the early components. Happy faces showed a greater brain response when consciously detected, while the sad faces induced a greater brain response when not consciously detected. The findings suggest that the N170 may be the epiphenomenon of an earlier consciously detection. Moreover, these preliminary results seem to support a main role of parietal and cingulate brain areas into not conscious perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Lai
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Gaia Romana Pellicano
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Ciacchella
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Guidobaldi
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Altavilla
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Marco Cecchini
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Edvaldo Begotaraj
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli,1, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Aceto
- Department of Anesthesia, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Largo Francesco Vito, 1, 00168, Rome, Italy; Institute of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 1, 00168, Rome, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Luciani
- Department of Neuroscience, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo Francesco Vito, 1, 00168, Rome, Italy
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22
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Lack of awareness despite complex visual processing: Evidence from event-related potentials in a case of selective metamorphopsia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16055-16064. [PMID: 32571942 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000424117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual awareness is thought to result from integration of low- and high-level processing; instances of integration failure provide a crucial window into the cognitive and neural bases of awareness. We present neurophysiological evidence of complex cognitive processing in the absence of awareness, raising questions about the conditions necessary for visual awareness. We describe an individual with a neurodegenerative disease who exhibits impaired visual awareness for the digits 2 to 9, and stimuli presented in close proximity to these digits, due to perceptual distortion. We identified robust event-related potential responses indicating 1) face detection with the N170 component and 2) task-dependent target-word detection with the P3b component, despite no awareness of the presence of faces or target words. These data force us to reconsider the relationship between neural processing and visual awareness; even stimuli processed by a workspace-like cognitive system can remain inaccessible to awareness. We discuss how this finding challenges and constrains theories of visual awareness.
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23
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Engell AD, Quillian HM. Faces under continuous flash suppression capture attention faster than objects, but without a face-evoked steady-state visual potential: Is curvilinearity responsible for the behavioral effect? J Vis 2020; 20:14. [PMID: 38755795 PMCID: PMC7416886 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.6.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Face perception is a vital part of human social interactions. The social value of faces makes their efficient detection evolutionarily advantageous. It has been suggested that this might occur nonconsciously, but experimental results are equivocal thus far. Here, we probe nonconscious face perception using a novel combination of binocular rivalry with continuous flash suppression and steady-state visually evoked potentials. In the first two experiments, participants viewed either non-face objects, neutral faces (Study 1), or fearful faces (Study 2). Consistent with the hypothesis that faces are processed nonconsciously, we found that faces broke through suppression faster than objects. We did not, however, observe a concomitant face-selective steady-state visually evoked potential. Study 3 was run to reconcile this paradox. We hypothesized that the faster breakthrough time was due to a mid-level visual feature, curvilinearity, rather than high-level category membership, which would explain the behavioral difference without neural evidence of face-selective processing. We tested this hypothesis by presenting participants with four different groups of stimuli outside of conscious awareness: rectilinear objects (e.g., chessboard), curvilinear objects (e.g., dartboard), faces, and objects that were not dominantly curvilinear or rectilinear. We found that faces and curvilinear objects broke through suppression faster than objects and rectilinear objects. Moreover, there was no difference between faces and curvilinear objects. These results support our hypothesis that the observed behavioral advantage for faces is due to their curvilinearity, rather than category membership.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Engell
- Department of Neuroscience, Kenyon College , Gambier, OH , USA
- Department of Psychology, Kenyon College , Gambier, OH , USA
- www.andrewengell.com
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24
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Retter TL, Jiang F, Webster MA, Rossion B. All-or-none face categorization in the human brain. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116685. [PMID: 32119982 PMCID: PMC7339021 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual categorization is integral for our interaction with the natural environment. In this process, similar selective responses are produced to a class of variable visual inputs. Whether categorization is supported by partial (graded) or absolute (all-or-none) neural responses in high-level human brain regions is largely unknown. We address this issue with a novel frequency-sweep paradigm probing the evolution of face categorization responses between the minimal and optimal stimulus presentation times. In a first experiment, natural images of variable non-face objects were progressively swept from 120 to 3 Hz (8.33-333 ms duration) in rapid serial visual presentation sequences. Widely variable face exemplars appeared every 1 s, enabling an implicit frequency-tagged face-categorization electroencephalographic (EEG) response at 1 Hz. Face-categorization activity emerged with stimulus durations as brief as 17 ms (17-83 ms across individual participants) but was significant with 33 ms durations at the group level. The face categorization response amplitude increased until 83 ms stimulus duration (12 Hz), implying graded categorization responses. In a second EEG experiment, faces appeared non-periodically throughout such sequences at fixed presentation rates, while participants explicitly categorized faces. A strong correlation between response amplitude and behavioral accuracy across frequency rates suggested that dilution from missed categorizations, rather than a decreased response to each face stimulus, accounted for the graded categorization responses as found in Experiment 1. This was supported by (1) the absence of neural responses to faces that participants failed to categorize explicitly in Experiment 2 and (2) equivalent amplitudes and spatio-temporal signatures of neural responses to behaviorally categorized faces across presentation rates. Overall, these observations provide original evidence that high-level visual categorization of faces, starting at about 100 ms following stimulus onset in the human brain, is variable across observers tested under tight temporal constraints, but occurs in an all-or-none fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia L Retter
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium; Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
| | - Fang Jiang
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
| | - Michael A Webster
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium; Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN - UMR 7039, F-54000, Nancy, France; CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, F-54000, Nancy, France
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25
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Ahmadi M. Denoising improves visualization of evoked potentials with limited number of trials. J Clin Neurosci 2020; 75:213-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2020.03.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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26
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Civile C, Waguri E, Quaglia S, Wooster B, Curtis A, McLaren R, Lavric A, McLaren IPL. Testing the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the face inversion effect and the N170 event-related potentials (ERPs) component. Neuropsychologia 2020; 143:107470. [PMID: 32315696 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The following study investigates the effects of tDCS on face recognition skills indexed by the face inversion effect (better recognition performance for upright vs. inverted faces). We combined tDCS and EEG simultaneously to examine the effects of tDCS on the face inversion effect behaviourally and on the N170 ERPs component. The results from two experiments (overall N = 112) show that anodal tDCS delivered at Fp3 site for 10 min at 1.5 mA (double-blind and between-subjects) can reduce behaviourally the face inversion effect compared to sham (control) stimulation. The ERP results provide some evidence for tDCS being able to influence the face inversion effect on the N170. Specifically, we find a dissociation of the tDCS-induced effects where for the N170 latencies the tDCS reduces the usual face inversion effect (delayed N170 in response to inverted vs. upright faces) compared to sham. Contrarily, the same tDCS procedure on the same participants increased the inversion effect seen in the N170 amplitudes by making the negative deflection for the inverted faces that much greater than that for upright faces. We interpret our results in the context of the literature on the face inversion effect and the N170 peak component. In doing so, we extend our results to previous studies investigating the effects of tDCS on perceptual learning and face recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciro Civile
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK.
| | - Emika Waguri
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Samantha Quaglia
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Brad Wooster
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Adam Curtis
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Rossy McLaren
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - Aureliu Lavric
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK
| | - I P L McLaren
- School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK.
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27
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Gonzalez-Perez M, Wakui E, Thoma V, Nitsche MA, Rivolta D. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 40 Hz enhances face and object perception. Neuropsychologia 2019; 135:107237. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Revised: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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28
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Criado-Boado F, Alonso-Pablos D, Blanco MJ, Porto Y, Rodríguez-Paz A, Cabrejas E, Del Barrio-Álvarez E, Martínez LM. Coevolution of visual behaviour, the material world and social complexity, depicted by the eye-tracking of archaeological objects in humans. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3985. [PMID: 30850626 PMCID: PMC6408451 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39661-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
We live in a cluttered visual world that is overflowing with information, the continuous processing of which would be a truly daunting task. Nevertheless, our brains have evolved to select which part of a visual scene is to be prioritized and analysed in detail, and which parts can be discarded or analysed at a later stage. This selection is in part determined by the visual stimuli themselves, and is known as "selective attention", which, in turn, determines how we explore and interact with our environment, including the distinct human artefacts produced in different socio-cultural contexts. Here we hypothesize that visual responses and material objects should therefore co-evolve to reflect changes in social complexity and culture throughout history. Using eye-tracking, we analysed the eye scan paths in response to prehistoric pottery ranging from the Neolithic through to the Iron Age (ca 6000-2000 BP), finding that each ceramic style caused a particular pattern of visual exploration. Horizontal movements become dominant in earlier periods, while vertical movements are more frequent in later periods that were marked by greater social complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Criado-Boado
- Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Avenida de Vigo s/n°, 15705, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Diego Alonso-Pablos
- Institute of Neurosciences (IN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH), Campus de San Juan, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
| | - Manuel J Blanco
- Laboratory of Perception, Faculty of Psychology, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Rúa Xosé María Suárez Núñez, s/n, Campus Vida, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Yolanda Porto
- Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Avenida de Vigo s/n°, 15705, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Anxo Rodríguez-Paz
- Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Avenida de Vigo s/n°, 15705, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Elena Cabrejas
- Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Avenida de Vigo s/n°, 15705, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Elena Del Barrio-Álvarez
- Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Avenida de Vigo s/n°, 15705, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Luis M Martínez
- Institute of Neurosciences (IN), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH), Campus de San Juan, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain.
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Pietto ML, Giovannetti F, Segretin MS, Belloli LML, Lopez-Rosenfeld M, Goldin AP, Fernández-Slezak D, Kamienkowski JE, Lipina SJ. Enhancement of inhibitory control in a sample of preschoolers from poor homes after cognitive training in a kindergarten setting: Cognitive and ERP evidence. Trends Neurosci Educ 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tine.2018.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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30
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Kamienkowski JE, Varatharajah A, Sigman M, Ison MJ. Parsing a mental program: Fixation-related brain signatures of unitary operations and routines in natural visual search. Neuroimage 2018; 183:73-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
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31
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Electrophysiological approaches in the study of cognitive development outside the lab. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206983. [PMID: 30475814 PMCID: PMC6261036 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of human neuroimaging technology provides knowledge about several emotional and cognitive processes at the neural level of organization. In particular, electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques allow researchers to explore high-temporal resolution of the neural activity that underlie the dynamics of cognitive processes. Although EEG research has been mostly applied in laboratory settings, recently a low-cost, portable EEG apparatus was released, which allows exploration of different emotional and cognitive processes during every-day activities. We compared a wide range of EEG measures using both a low-cost portable and a high-quality laboratory system. EEG recordings were done with both systems while participants performed an active task (Go/NoGo) and during their resting-state. Results showed similar waveforms in terms of morphology and amplitude of the ERPs, and comparable effects between conditions of the applied Go/NoGo paradigm. In addition, the contribution of each frequency to the entire EEG was not significantly different during resting-state, and fluctuations in amplitude of oscillations showed long-range temporal correlations. These results showed that low-cost, portable EEG technology can provide an alternative of enough quality for measuring brain activity outside a laboratory setting, which could contribute to the study of different populations in more ecological contexts.
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Ahmadi M, McDevitt EA, Silver MA, Mednick SC. Perceptual learning induces changes in early and late visual evoked potentials. Vision Res 2018; 152:101-109. [PMID: 29224982 PMCID: PMC6014865 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2017.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 06/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Studies of visual cortical responses following visual perceptual learning (VPL) have produced diverse results, revealing neural changes in early and/or higher-level visual cortex as well as changes in regions responsible for higher cognitive processes such as attentional control. In this study, we investigated substrates of VPL in the human brain by recording visual evoked potentials with high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) before (Session 1) and after (Session 2) training on a texture discrimination task (TDT), with two full nights of sleep between sessions. We studied the following event-related potential (ERP) components: C1 (early sensory processing), P1 and N1 (later sensory processing, modulated by top-down spatial attention), and P3 (cognitive processing). Our results showed a significant decrease in C1 amplitude at Session 2 relative to Session 1 that was positively correlated with the magnitude of improvement in behavioral performance. Although we observed no significant changes in P1 amplitude with VPL, both N1 amplitude and latency were significantly decreased in Session 2. Moreover, the difference in N1 latency between Session 1 and Session 2 was negatively correlated with behavioral improvement. We also found a significant increase in P3 amplitude following training. Our results suggest that VPL of the TDT task may be due to plasticity in early visual cortical areas as well as changes in top-down attentional control and cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ahmadi
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, UC Irvine, United States.
| | - Elizabeth A McDevitt
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, New Jersey, United States
| | - Michael A Silver
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, United States; School of Optometry, UC Berkeley, United States; Vision Science Graduate Group, UC Berkeley, United States
| | - Sara C Mednick
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, UC Irvine, United States
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33
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Boncompte G, Cosmelli D. Neural Correlates of Conscious Motion Perception. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:355. [PMID: 30250429 PMCID: PMC6139308 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The nature of the proper neural signature of conscious perception remains a topic of active debate. Theoretical support from integrative theories of consciousness is consistent with such signature being P3b, one of the main candidates in the literature. Recent work has also put forward a mid-latency and more localized component, the Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN), as a proper Neural Correlate of Consciousness (NCC). Early local components like P1 have also been proposed. However, experiments exploring visual NCCs are conducted almost exclusively using static images as the content to be consciously perceived, favoring ventral stream processing, therefore limiting the scope of the NCCs that have been identified. Here we explored the visual NCCs isolating local motion, a dorsally processed feature, as the primary feature being consciously perceived. Physical equality between Seen and Unseen conditions in addition to a minimal contrast difference between target and no-target displays was employed. In agreement with previous literature, we found a P3b with a wide centro-parietal distribution that strongly correlated with the detection of the stimuli. P3b magnitude was larger for Seen vs. Unseen conditions, a result that was consistently observed at the single subject level. In contrast, we were unable to detect VAN in our data, regardless of whether the subject perceived or not the stimuli. In the 200-300 ms time window we found a N2pc component, consistent with the high attentional demands of our task. Early components like P1 were not observed in our data, in agreement with their proposed role in the processing of visual features, but not as proper NCCs. Our results extend the role of P3b as a content independent NCC to conscious visual motion perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Boncompte
- Laboratorio de Psicofisiología, Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Diego Cosmelli
- Laboratorio de Psicofisiología, Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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34
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Uono S, Sato W, Sawada R, Kochiyama T, Toichi M. Spatiotemporal commonalities of fronto-parietal activation in attentional orienting triggered by supraliminal and subliminal gaze cues: An event-related potential study. Biol Psychol 2018; 136:29-38. [PMID: 29733867 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Revised: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Eye gaze triggers attentional shifts with and without conscious awareness. It remains unclear whether the spatiotemporal patterns of electric neural activity are the same for conscious and unconscious attentional shifts. Thus, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and evaluated the neural activation involved in attentional orienting induced by subliminal and supraliminal gaze cues. Nonpredictive gaze cues were presented in the central field of vision, and participants were asked to detect a subsequent peripheral target. The mean reaction time was shorter for congruent gaze cues than for incongruent gaze cues under both presentation conditions, indicating that both types of cues reliably trigger attentional orienting. The ERP analysis revealed that averted versus straight gaze induced greater negative deflection in the bilateral fronto-central and temporal regions between 278 and 344 ms under both supraliminal and subliminal presentation conditions. Supraliminal cues, irrespective of gaze direction, induced a greater negative amplitude than did subliminal cues at the right posterior cortices at a peak of approximately 170 ms and in the 200-300 ms. These results suggest that similar spatial and temporal fronto-parietal activity is involved in attentional orienting triggered by both supraliminal and subliminal gaze cues, although inputs from different visual processing routes (cortical and subcortical regions) may trigger activity in the attentional network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Uono
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
| | - Wataru Sato
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Reiko Sawada
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan; The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, 40 Shogoin Sanno-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8392, Japan
| | - Takanori Kochiyama
- ATR Brain Activity Imaging Center, 2-2-2, Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Souraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
| | - Motomi Toichi
- Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan; The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research, 40 Shogoin Sanno-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8392, Japan
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35
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Extracting information from the shape and spatial distribution of evoked potentials. J Neurosci Methods 2018; 296:12-22. [PMID: 29277720 PMCID: PMC5840508 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2017.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
A decoding approach for extracting and quantifying information from ERPs is proposed. The proposed framework extracts more information than standard supervised approaches. The method allows analysis of multichannel signals.
Background Over 90 years after its first recording, scalp electroencephalography (EEG) remains one of the most widely used techniques in human neuroscience research, in particular for the study of event-related potentials (ERPs). However, because of its low signal-to-noise ratio, extracting useful information from these signals continues to be a hard-technical challenge. Many studies focus on simple properties of the ERPs such as peaks, latencies, and slopes of signal deflections. New method To overcome these limitations, we developed the Wavelet-Information method which uses wavelet decomposition, information theory, and a quantification based on single-trial decoding performance to extract information from evoked responses. Results Using simulations and real data from four experiments, we show that the proposed approach outperforms standard supervised analyses based on peak amplitude estimation. Moreover, the method can extract information using the raw data from all recorded channels using no a priori knowledge or pre-processing steps. Comparison with existing method(s) We show that traditional approaches often disregard important features of the signal such as the shape of EEG waveforms. Also, other approaches often require some form of a priori knowledge for feature selection and lead to problems of multiple comparisons. Conclusions This approach offers a new and complementary framework to design experiments that go beyond the traditional analyses of ERPs. Potentially, it allows a wide usage beyond basic research; such as for clinical diagnosis, brain-machine interfaces, and neurofeedback applications requiring single-trial analyses.
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36
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Hsu SM, Yang YF. Temporal neural mechanisms underlying conscious access to different levels of facial stimulus contents. J Neurophysiol 2017; 119:1356-1366. [PMID: 29357469 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00747.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
An important issue facing the empirical study of consciousness concerns how the contents of incoming stimuli gain access to conscious processing. According to classic theories, facial stimuli are processed in a hierarchical manner. However, it remains unclear how the brain determines which level of stimulus content is consciously accessible when facing an incoming facial stimulus. Accordingly, with a magnetoencephalography technique, this study aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of the neural mechanism mediating which level of stimulus content is consciously accessible. Participants were instructed to view masked target faces at threshold so that, according to behavioral responses, their perceptual awareness alternated from consciously accessing facial identity in some trials to being able to consciously access facial configuration features but not facial identity in other trials. Conscious access at these two levels of facial contents were associated with a series of differential neural events. Before target presentation, different patterns of phase angle adjustment were observed between the two types of conscious access. This effect was followed by stronger phase clustering for awareness of facial identity immediately during stimulus presentation. After target onset, conscious access to facial identity, as opposed to facial configural features, was able to elicit more robust late positivity. In conclusion, we suggest that the stages of neural events, ranging from prestimulus to stimulus-related activities, may operate in combination to determine which level of stimulus contents is consciously accessed. Conscious access may thus be better construed as comprising various forms that depend on the level of stimulus contents accessed. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study investigates how the brain determines which level of stimulus contents is consciously accessible when facing an incoming facial stimulus. Using magnetoencephalography, we show that prestimulus activities together with stimulus-related activities may operate in combination to determine conscious face detection or identification. This finding is distinct from the previous notion that conscious face detection precedes identification and provides novel insights into the temporal dynamics of different levels of conscious face perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shen-Mou Hsu
- Imaging Center for Integrated Body, Mind and Culture Research, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.,Research Center for Mind, Brain and Learning, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Yu-Fang Yang
- Research Center for Mind, Brain and Learning, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
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37
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Juxtaposing the real-time unfolding of subjective experience and ERP neuromarker dynamics. Conscious Cogn 2017; 54:3-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 05/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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38
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Menzel C, Hayn-Leichsenring GU, Redies C, Németh K, Kovács G. When noise is beneficial for sensory encoding: Noise adaptation can improve face processing. Brain Cogn 2017. [PMID: 28647115 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The presence of noise usually impairs the processing of a stimulus. Here, we studied the effects of noise on face processing and show, for the first time, that adaptation to noise patterns has beneficial effects on face perception. We used noiseless faces that were either surrounded by random noise or presented on a uniform background as stimuli. In addition, the faces were either preceded by noise adaptors or not. Moreover, we varied the statistics of the noise so that its spectral slope either matched that of the faces or it was steeper or shallower. Results of parallel ERP recordings showed that the background noise reduces the amplitude of the face-evoked N170, indicating less intensive face processing. Adaptation to a noise pattern, however, led to reduced P1 and enhanced N170 amplitudes as well as to a better behavioral performance in two of the three noise conditions. This effect was also augmented by the presence of background noise around the target stimuli. Additionally, the spectral slope of the noise pattern affected the size of the P1, N170 and P2 amplitudes. We reason that the observed effects are due to the selective adaptation of noise-sensitive neurons present in the face-processing cortical areas, which may enhance the signal-to-noise-ratio.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Menzel
- Experimental Aesthetics Group, Institute of Anatomy I, Jena University Hospital, Teichgraben 7, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany.
| | - Gregor U Hayn-Leichsenring
- Experimental Aesthetics Group, Institute of Anatomy I, Jena University Hospital, Teichgraben 7, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Christoph Redies
- Experimental Aesthetics Group, Institute of Anatomy I, Jena University Hospital, Teichgraben 7, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Kornél Németh
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Egry József utca 1., T building V. 506, Budapest H-1111, Hungary
| | - Gyula Kovács
- Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leutragraben 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany
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39
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Navajas J, Nitka AW, Quian Quiroga R. Dissociation between the neural correlates of conscious face perception and visual attention. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:1138-1150. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Revised: 02/12/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joaquin Navajas
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester; Leicester United Kingdom
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London; London United Kingdom
| | - Aleksander W. Nitka
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester; Leicester United Kingdom
- School of Psychology; University of Leicester; Leicester United Kingdom
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40
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Yang H, Zhao J, Gaspar CM, Chen W, Tan Y, Weng X. Selectivity of N170 for visual words in the right hemisphere: Evidence from single-trial analysis. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:1128-1137. [PMID: 28369927 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Revised: 02/12/2017] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies have identified the involvement of the right posterior region in the processing of visual words. Interestingly, in contrast, ERP studies of the N170 typically demonstrate selectivity for words more strikingly over the left hemisphere. Why is right hemisphere selectivity for words during the N170 epoch typically not observed, despite the clear involvement of this region in word processing? One possibility is that amplitude differences measured on averaged ERPs in previous studies may have been obscured by variation in peak latency across trials. This study examined this possibility by using single-trial analysis. Results show that words evoked greater single-trial N170s than control stimuli in the right hemisphere. Additionally, we observed larger trial-to-trial variability on N170 peak latency for words as compared to control stimuli over the right hemisphere. Results demonstrate that, in contrast to much of the prior literature, the N170 can be selective to words over the right hemisphere. This discrepancy is explained in terms of variability in trial-to-trial peak latency for responses to words over the right hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Yang
- Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jing Zhao
- Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Carl M Gaspar
- Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Objects and Knowledge Laboratory, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Yufei Tan
- Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xuchu Weng
- Institutes of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.,Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Cognition and Brain Disorder, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
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41
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42
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Coon WG, Schalk G. A method to establish the spatiotemporal evolution of task-related cortical activity from electrocorticographic signals in single trials. J Neurosci Methods 2016; 271:76-85. [PMID: 27427301 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2016.06.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2015] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Progress in neuroscience depends substantially on the ability to establish the detailed spatial and temporal sequence of neuronal population-level activity across large areas of the brain. Because there is substantial inter-trial variability in neuronal activity, traditional techniques that rely on signal averaging obscure where and when neuronal activity occurs. Thus, up to the present, it has been difficult to examine the detailed progression of neuronal activity across large areas of the brain. NEW METHOD Here we describe a method for establishing the spatiotemporal evolution of neuronal population-level activity across large brain regions by determining exactly where and when neural activity occurs during a behavioral task in individual trials. We validate the efficacy of the method, examine the effects of its parameterization, and demonstrate its utility by highlighting two sets of results that could not readily be achieved with traditional methods. RESULTS Our results reveal the precise spatiotemporal evolution of neuronal population activity that unfolds during a sensorimotor task in individual trials, and establishes the relationship between neuronal oscillations and the onset of this activity. CONCLUSIONS The ability to identify the spatiotemporal evolution of neuronal population activity onsets in single trials gives investigators a powerful new tool with which to study large-scale cortical processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- W G Coon
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA; Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, State Univ. of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA.
| | - G Schalk
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA; Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, State Univ. of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA; Dept. of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA.
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43
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Caffaratti H, Navajas J, Rey HG, Quian Quiroga R. Where is the ball? Behavioral and neural responses elicited by a magic trick. Psychophysiology 2016; 53:1441-8. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Caffaratti
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience; University of Leicester; Leicester UK
| | - Joaquin Navajas
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience; University of Leicester; Leicester UK
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience; University College London; London UK
| | - Hernan G. Rey
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience; University of Leicester; Leicester UK
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44
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The development of category specificity in infancy – What can we learn from electrophysiology? Neuropsychologia 2016; 83:114-122. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2014] [Revised: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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45
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Liu-Shuang J, Torfs K, Rossion B. An objective electrophysiological marker of face individualisation impairment in acquired prosopagnosia with fast periodic visual stimulation. Neuropsychologia 2016; 83:100-113. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 08/20/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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46
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Rutiku R, Aru J, Bachmann T. General Markers of Conscious Visual Perception and Their Timing. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:23. [PMID: 26869905 PMCID: PMC4740392 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have observed different onset times for the neural markers of conscious perception. This variability could be attributed to procedural differences between studies. Here we show that the onset times for the markers of conscious visual perception can strongly vary even within a single study. A heterogeneous stimulus set was presented at threshold contrast. Trials with and without conscious perception were contrasted on 100 balanced subsets of the data. Importantly, the 100 subsets with heterogeneous stimuli did not differ in stimulus content, but only with regard to specific trials used. This approach enabled us to study general markers of conscious visual perception independent of stimulus content, characterize their onset and its variability within one study. N200 and P300 were the two reliable markers of conscious visual perception common to all perceived stimuli and absent for all non-perceived stimuli. The estimated mean onset latency for both markers was shortly after 200 ms. However, the onset latency of these markers was associated with considerable variability depending on which subsets of the data were considered. We show that it is first and foremost the amplitude fluctuation in the condition without conscious perception that explains the observed variability in onset latencies of the markers of conscious visual perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renate Rutiku
- Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Education, University of TartuTartu, Estonia; Cognitive Psychology Lab, Institute of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of TartuTallinn, Estonia
| | - Jaan Aru
- Cognitive Psychology Lab, Institute of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of TartuTallinn, Estonia; Computational Neuroscience Lab, Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of TartuTartu, Estonia
| | - Talis Bachmann
- Cognitive Psychology Lab, Institute of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tartu Tallinn, Estonia
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48
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Barbieri M, Negrini M, Nitsche MA, Rivolta D. Anodal-tDCS over the human right occipital cortex enhances the perception and memory of both faces and objects. Neuropsychologia 2016; 81:238-244. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/28/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Bachmann T. How a (sub)Cellular Coincidence Detection Mechanism Featuring Layer-5 Pyramidal Cells May Help Produce Various Visual Phenomena. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1947. [PMID: 26733926 PMCID: PMC4686615 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceptual phenomena such as spatio-temporal illusions and masking are typically explained by psychological (cognitive) processing theories or large-scale neural theories involving inter-areal connectivity and neural circuits comprising of hundreds or more interconnected single cells. Subcellular mechanisms are hardly used for such purpose. Here, a mechanistic theoretical view is presented on how a subcellular brain mechanism of integration of presynaptic signals that arrive at different compartments of layer-5 pyramidal neurons could explain a couple of spatiotemporal visual-phenomenal effects unfolding along very brief time intervals within the range of the sub-second temporal scale.
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Quian Quiroga R. Neuronal codes for visual perception and memory. Neuropsychologia 2015; 83:227-241. [PMID: 26707718 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Revised: 12/08/2015] [Accepted: 12/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
In this review, I describe and contrast the representation of stimuli in visual cortical areas and in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). While cortex is characterized by a distributed and implicit coding that is optimal for recognition and storage of semantic information, the MTL shows a much sparser and explicit coding of specific concepts that is ideal for episodic memory. I will describe the main characteristics of the coding in the MTL by the so-called concept cells and will then propose a model of the formation and recall of episodic memory based on partially overlapping assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, University of Leicester, 9 Salisbury Rd, LE1 7QR Leicester, UK.
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