The DOI matches its Crossref record; 37 of the 37 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Subliminal Instrumental Conditioning Demonstrated in the Human Brain
Open accessAbstract
How the brain uses success and failure to optimize future decisions is a long-standing question in neuroscience. One computational solution involves updating the values of context-action associations in proportion to a reward prediction error. Previous evidence suggests that such computations are expressed in the striatum and, as they are cognitively impenetrable, represent an unconscious learning mechanism. Here, we formally test this by studying instrumental conditioning in a situation where we masked contextual cues, such that they were not consciously perceived. Behavioral data showed that subjects nonetheless developed a significant propensity to choose cues associated with monetary rewards relative to punishments. Functional neuroimaging revealed that during conditioning cue values and prediction errors, generated from a computational model, both correlated with activity in ventral striatum. We conclude that, even without conscious processing of contextual cues, our brain can learn their reward value and use them to provide a bias on decision making.
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“Remarkably, in humans, such learning appears to proceed even when the cues, reward, or motivation signals are presented below the consciousness threshold ( 17 , 18 ).”
From What is consciousness, and could machines have it? (2017) · cites this paper as [17]
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Cites
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“However, subliminal conditioning studies in humans have so far been restricted to Pavlovian paradigms such as fear conditioning (Clark and Squire, 1998; Knight et al., 2003; Morris et al., 1998; Olsson and Phelps, 2004), where subliminal stimuli (like unseen faces) are paired with unpleasant events (like white noise)…”
BackgroundSelf-citationDopamine-dependent prediction errors underpin reward-seeking behaviour in humans
Pessiglione, M., Seymour, B., Flandin, G., Dolan, R. J., & Frith, C. D. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05051 · Cited by 1,584
Self-citationCognitive Neuroscience and the Study of Memory
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Animal intelligence; experimental studies
Thorndike, E. L. (1911) · doi:10.5962/bhl.title.55072 · Cited by 1,100
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Nothing to see here: The weak evidence base for unconscious control of human behavior
Shanks, D. R. (2026) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x25102847
Gottlieb, J., Kemp, E., & Trager, M. (2026) · Mind & Language · doi:10.1111/mila.70049
Mendoza, G. G., Cozzolino, V., Fernández, P. V., & García, G. O. (2026) · doi:10.32719/9789942566669
Lan, Y., Hou, X., Zeng, H., & Chen, L. (2026) · Perception · doi:10.1177/03010066261474477
Reward reduces motor fatigability by increasing movement vigour
Imhof, J., Heimhofer, C., Bächinger, M., Meissner, S. N., Ramsey, R., & Wenderoth, N. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-68071-y
Perceptual transformation: An overlooked phenomenon within a model for intrapsychic phenomena
Farshbaf-Zivari, J., & Nodehi, D. (2026) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.108033
On Biological and Verbal Camouflage: The Strategic Use of Models in Non-Scientific Thinking
Bertolotti, T. (2015) · Studies in applied philosophy, epistemology and rational ethics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17786-1_2
Metadata
- Authors
- Pessiglione, M., Petrovic, P., Daunizeau, J., Palminteri, S., Dolan, R. J., & Frith, C. D.
- Affiliations
- Inserm (FR)
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pessiglione, Mathias
- Venue
- Neuron
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 561-567
- ISSN
- 0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2572733
- OpenAlex
- W2123851461
- Cited by
- 308
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 8.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuron (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- subliminal learning, operant conditioning, reward prediction error, ventral striatum, unconscious learning, decision-making, punishment, computational model
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Association Learning, Attention, Awareness, Brain Mapping, Choice Behavior, Conditioning, Operant, Consciousness, Decision Making, Discrimination, Psychological, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Perceptual Masking, Reference Values, Subliminal Stimulation, Visual Cortex, Neostriatum, Intuition
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