The spectral dynamics of visual awareness: An interplay of different frequencies?
Alessandra Tafuro, Chiara Mazzi, Silvia Savazzi
The European journal of neuroscience June 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15988 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Ersp Ncc Decision bias Visual awareness |
| Key findings | Alpha and beta bands show power suppression for aware versus unaware trials, and visual awareness involves a complex interaction of theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies as prerequisites and post-perceptual processes. |
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate the neurophysiological correlates of visual awareness, with a specific focus on its event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) features. To this aim, we tried to disentangle the proper neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) from other prerequisite and post-perceptual processing. To do so, we administered an orientation discrimination task, inducing a response bias through task instructions. EEG results showed that different frequency bands are involved in this kind of task, with different spectral and temporal dynamics. In particular, alpha and beta bands seem to be particularly engaged, especially in the aware-unaware contrast, showing a main power suppression for aware trials and replicating previous literature. Moreover, we demonstrated that the process of visual awareness is orchestrated by a complex interaction of different frequencies (i.e., theta, alpha, beta and gamma) being involved as prerequisites and post-perceptual processes.