Event-related potential correlates of consciousness in simple auditory hallucinations.

Summary

Auditory awareness negativity (AAN) emerges as a key marker for auditory consciousness, particularly in the context of hallucinations. In a study involving 40 participants exposed to near-threshold tones, AAN was identified as an early event-related potential distinguishing aware from unaware stimuli. Notably, late positivity, typically associated with conscious perception, was absent during these auditory hallucinations. These findings highlight AAN's role in understanding how consciousness operates independently of physical stimuli, supporting theories like global workspace and recurrent processing.

Abstract

Neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) have been proposed for perceptual awareness in various sensory modalities. To date, perceptual awareness negativity (PAN) and late positivity (LP) are considered the main NCC candidates, and the question remains which one is the NCC proper. Investigating states where the content of consciousness is independent of the physical stimulus, may provide additional theoretical and empirical value. We studied the event-related potential (ERP) markers of auditory awareness in simple auditory hallucinations using a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm, where participants listened to the near-threshold tones and stimulus-absent trials, rating subjective clarity with the perceptual awareness scale (PAS). The results showed auditory awareness negativity (AAN) - an early event-related potential difference between aware and unaware stimuli - in the hallucinatory condition, suggesting that AAN is an NCC proper in auditory consciousness. Late positivity was absent in simple auditory hallucinations.

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