Can working memory be non-conscious?
Open accessAbstract
Working memory (WM) is closely linked to conscious awareness: In most conceptions of WM, the inputs to WM need to be conscious. The findings of some recent studies, however, have been taken to suggest that WM can indeed operate on non-conscious inputs. Here, we argue that these findings can easily be accommodated by conventional conceptions of non-conscious perception and conscious WM. We conclude that these studies do not provide conclusive evidence for non-conscious WM. It is thus too early to dismiss the traditional view of a tight link between WM and conscious awareness.
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Cites
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- Authors
- Stein, T., Kaiser, D., & Hesselmann, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Trento (IT)
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Stein, Timo
- Venue
- Neuroscience of Consciousness
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2016
- Volume
- 2016
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- niv011
- ISSN
- 2057-2107 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6368269
- OpenAlex
- W2308192860
- Cited by
- 61
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 10.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Neuroscience of Consciousness (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Institutional Research Information System (Università degli Studi di Trento) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- European Commission (329363, 2007–2013)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (HE 6244/1-2, STE 2239/1-1, 6244/1-2)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Keywords
- working memory, conscious awareness, unconscious processes
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