Theta-band behavioral oscillations in face priming with and without conscious awareness

Abstract

Recent research has underscored the rhythmic nature of visual perception, yet the connection between these perceptual rhythms, conscious awareness, and their underlying mechanisms remains largely elusive. This study employed a fine-grained temporal priming paradigm to investigate the oscillatory dynamics of face perception. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the awareness of prime stimuli to determine whether behavioral oscillations occur under both conscious and unconscious conditions. Our findings revealed significant theta-band oscillations in face perception under both conditions, suggesting that theta-band rhythmicity may be a fundamental feature of face perception, independent of conscious awareness. Experiment 2 investigated the influence of top-down predictions by using Mooney images as prime stimuli. Notably, theta-band behavioral oscillations emerged only when participants engaged prior configurational predictions to interpret Mooney faces. This highlights the role of top-down processes in modulating rhythmic face perception. Collectively, these results suggest that the brain may employ a generalized frequency-tagging mechanism in face perception, operating across different states of consciousness. These findings contribute to the understanding of the rhythmic basis of face perception, expanding insights into face processing across diverse visual contexts and emphasizing the role of neural oscillations in enabling predictive interpretation.