A review of tensions between global neuronal workspace theory and recurrent processing theory focuses on their differing views on the relationship between attention and consciousness. The authors argue that both theories offer key insights that can be reconciled into a novel framework. They propose an updated taxonomy of conscious and non-conscious states that incorporates a wider spectrum by integrating contemporary views on attentional mechanisms interacting with sensory processing. The framework considers whether certain types of attention are necessary for phenomenal and access consciousness. Recent 'no-report' paradigms are reviewed, and methodological misunderstandings are addressed to clarify how to identify the neural basis of perceptual awareness.
A left-lateralized, near-vertex negativity in EEG, occurring 200–300 ms after stimulus onset, distinguishes sine-wave speech tokens perceived as speech from those perceived as noise, even when task-irrelevant. This response, interpreted as a phonological perceptual awareness negativity, was absent for frequency-flipped control tokens never perceived as speech. The P3b component was enhanced only for tokens both perceived as speech and task-relevant. The findings suggest that neural correlates of conscious perception, across different types of conscious content, are most likely midlatency negative-going brain responses in content-specific sensory areas.