Unconscious High-Level Information Processing: Implication for Neurobiological Theories of Consciousness
Abstract
Theories about the neural correlates and functional relevance of consciousness have traditionally assigned a crucial role to the prefrontal cortex in generating consciousness as well as in orchestrating high-level conscious control over behavior. However, recent neuroscientific findings show that prefrontal cortex can be activated unconsciously. The depth, direction, and scope of these activations depend on several top-down factors such as the task being probed (task-set, strategy) and on (temporal/spatial) attention. Regardless, such activations-when mediated by feedforward activation only-do not lead to a conscious sensation. Although unconscious, these prefrontal activations are functional, in the sense that they are associated with behavioral effects of cognitive control, such as response inhibition, task switching, conflict monitoring, and error detection. These findings challenge the pivotal role of the prefrontal cortex in consciousness. Instead, it appears that specific brain areas (or cognitive modules) may support specific cognitive functions but that consciousness is independent of this. Conscious sensations arise only when the brain areas involved engage in recurrent interactions enabling the long-lasting exchange of information between brain regions. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that also the state of consciousness, for example, in vegetative state patients or during sleep and anesthesia, is closely related to the scope and extent of residual recurrent inte…
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One of the main debates in the literature is regarding the existence, extent, and scope of unconscious processing.
“One of the main debates in the literature is regarding the existence, extent, and scope of unconscious processing (Dehaene and Naccache 2001; Kunde et al. 2012; van Gaal and Lamme 2012; Hassin 2013; Newell and Shanks 2014; Meyen et al. 2021).”
From An academic survey on theoretical foundations, common assumptions and the current state of consciousness science (2022) · cites this paper as van Gaal and Lamme 2012
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- Authors
- van Gaal, S., & Lamme, V. A. F.
- Affiliations
- Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- ORCID
- Lamme, Victor A. F.
- Venue
- The Neuroscientist
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-05-31
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 287-301
- ISSN
- 1073-8584 (ISSN-L)
- 1089-4098
- OpenAlex
- W2125978348
- Cited by
- 181
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 8.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Neuroscientist (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- consciousness, neural correlates of consciousness, cognitive control, top-down attention, response inhibition, task switching, conflict monitoring, error detection, vegetative state, sleep, anesthesia, states of consciousness
- MeSH terms
- Cognition, Consciousness, Humans, Models, Neurological, Unconscious, Psychology, Executive Function
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