PLoS One2026Matilda Gibbons, Ethan G McBride, Raghuram Holenarasipura Venkatasubbaiah et al.
Identifying the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) is widely regarded as imperative to our understanding of consciousness. Although several scientific theories of consciousness make predictions about the NCC, they often differ in their level of detail, making direct comparison through experimental findings difficult. Here, we report an adversarial collaboration protocol in which unbiased...
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, but have not been directly compared3. Here we present an open science adversarial collaboration directly juxtaposing integrated information theory (IIT)4,5 and global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT)6-10 via a theory-neutral consortium11-13. The theory...
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, yet, confirmation bias and dependence on design choices hamper progress in the field3. Here, we present an open science adversarial collaboration which directly juxtaposes Integrated Information Theory (IIT)4,5 and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT)6–10,...
The relationship between conscious experience and brain activity has intrigued scientists and philosophers for centuries. In the last decades, several theories have suggested different accounts for these relationships. These theories have developed in parallel, with little to no cross-talk among them. To advance research on consciousness, we established an adversarial collaboration between...
The role of the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) in conscious perception is debated. The global neuronal workspace theory of consciousness predicts that PFC neurons should contain a detailed code of the current conscious contents. Previous research showed that PFC is indeed activated in paradigms of conscious visual perception, including no-report paradigms where no voluntary behavioral report...
During binocular rivalry (BR), incongruent, unchanged visual stimulation induces intrinsically generated transitions in conscious content. Due to this astonishing property, BR is commonly combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or single neuron recordings to identify the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs); namely, brain activity reflecting conscious contents and...
Access of sensory information to consciousness is thought to be mediated through ignition of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Ignition occurs once activity elicited by sensory input crosses a threshold, which has been shown to depend on brain state fluctuations. However, the neural correlates of fluctuations and their interaction with the neural representations of conscious...
Multiple theories attribute to the primate prefrontal cortex a critical role in conscious perception. However, opposing views caution that prefrontal activity could reflect other cognitive variables during paradigms investigating consciousness, such as decision-making, monitoring and motor reports. To resolve this ongoing debate, we recorded from prefrontal ensembles of macaque monkeys during a...
The role of lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) in mediating conscious perception has been recently questioned due to potential confounds resulting from the parallel operation of task related processes. We have previously demonstrated encoding of contents of visual consciousness in LPFC neurons during a no-report task involving perceptual suppression. Here, we report a separate LPFC population...
The combination of electrophysiological recordings with ambiguous visual stimulation made possible the detection of neurons that represent the content of subjective visual perception and perceptual suppression in multiple cortical and subcortical brain regions. These neuronal populations, commonly referred to as the neural correlates of consciousness, are more likely to be found in the temporal...
In 1593, Neapolitan polymath Giambattista della Porta publicly \nlamented that he was unable to improve his impressive productivity \n(he had published in areas as diverse as cryptography, \nhydraulics, pharmacology, optics, and classic fiction). Della \nPorta was trying to read two books simultaneously by placing \nboth volumes side-by-side, and using each eye independently. To \nhis great...