Measuring away an attentional confound?
Jorge Morales, Yasha Mouradi, Claire Sergent, Ned Block, Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel, David Rosenthal, Piercesare Grimaldi, Hakwan Lau
Neuroscience of Consciousness 2017 DOI: 10.1093/nc/nix018 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Attention Awareness Consciousness FMRI Metacontrast masking Methodology |
| Key points | Argues that the experimental design used by Webb et al. (2016) to match attention across awareness conditions conflicts with known features of attention, and highlights logical and methodological issues that must be addressed when attempting to disentangle attention from awareness. |
Abstract
A recent fMRI study by Webb et al. (Cortical networks involved in visual awareness independent of visual attention, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016;113:13923-28) proposes a new method for finding the neural correlates of awareness by matching attention across awareness conditions. The experimental design, however, seems at odds with known features of attention. We highlight logical and methodological points that are critical when trying to disentangle attention and awareness.