Distinct frontal lobe subregions mediate the emergence and reporting of visual consciousness.

The frontal lobe contains distinct subregions that support different aspects of visual consciousness. Using EEG and eye-tracking in Report and No-Report paradigms, eye-movement features distinguished conscious from unconscious trials even without explicit reports. The Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN) occurred independently of reporting, while the P3b component appeared only with explicit reports. The frontal Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) supported the emergence of consciousness regardless of reporting, as a classifier decoded visual consciousness bidirectionally between report and no-report tasks. In contrast, the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Frontoparietal Control Network (FPN) encoded consciousness only when explicit reports were required, indicating roles in reporting rather than emergence. These results demonstrate a functional dissociation within the frontal lobe for consciousness emergence versus reporting.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Persistent debate surrounds whether the frontal lobe supports the emergence or reporting of consciousness, raising the hypothesis that distinct frontal subregions may support these processes. We addressed this by combining electroencephalography (EEG) with eye-tracking in Report and No-Report paradigms. Eye-movement features distinguished conscious and unconscious trials in the no-report task. Event-related potential analyses showed that the Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN) was independent of reporting, whereas P3b occurred only with explicit reports. Importantly, the frontal Dorsal Attention Network (DAN) supported the emergence of consciousness, independent of post-perceptual reporting, as shown by multivoxel pattern analysis showing that a classifier's ability to decode visual consciousness generalized bidirectionally between report and no-report tasks. In contrast, frontal components of the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Frontoparietal Control Network (FPN) encoded visual consciousness only when explicit reports were required, indicating roles in reporting. These findings demonstrate a functional dissociation within the frontal lobe and refine the anatomical framework for the neural basis of visual consciousness.