Decoding the contents of consciousness from prefrontal ensembles
Vishal Kapoor, Abhilash Dwarakanath, Shervin Safavi, Joachim Werner, Michel Besserve, Theofanis I. Panagiotaropoulos, Nikos K. Logothetis
bioRxiv Preprint Server January 28, 2020 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.28.921841 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Population | Macaque monkeys |
| Key findings | Prefrontal ensemble activity in macaques can decode the contents of consciousness during binocular rivalry without requiring a report, and this representation is not solely due to oculomotor signals. |
Abstract
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 no-report paradigm of binocular rivalry that instigates internally driven transitions in conscious perception. We could decode the contents of consciousness from prefrontal ensemble activity during binocular rivalry with an accuracy similar to when these stimuli were presented without competition. Oculomotor signals, used to infer conscious content, were not the only source of these representations since visual input could be significantly decoded when eye movements were suppressed. Our results suggest that the collective dynamics of prefrontal cortex populations reflect internally generated changes in the content of consciousness during multistable perception.