The Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Conscious Perception: The Localist Perspective

Abstract

In recent years the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in conscious perception has acquired great interest since it became a pivotal issue distinguishing among prevailing neuronal theories of human consciousness. One can identify three major, and conflicting, views of this role. The globalist view proposes that the PFC is a major hub in a global workspace whose activation is a critical component for any conscious experience. The higher-order thought theory argues that the PFC has a more specialized role underlying higher-order reflection or evaluation, proposed to be an essential element of consciousness. By contrast, the localist view argues that conscious content is linked to localized activations in content-specific cortical areas with no privileged role assigned to the prefrontal cortex in conscious experience in general. According to the localist view, just as posterior cortical areas underlie the conscious experience of visual perceptions, so does the prefrontal cortex underlie the conscious experience of specific categories of conscious contents such as reporting, thinking, speech, and introspection. Here I will review experimental evidence derived from human imaging and recordings, cortical lesions, and direct electrical stimulation in awake patients. Findings from these