Selective attention produces both costs and benefits in iconic memory and fragile visual short-term memory, which are linked to phenomenal consciousness. In three experiments using a retro-cue paradigm, attentional costs disrupted visual maintenance at longer delays. Reducing the memory array exposure from 250 ms to 100 ms prevented participants from selecting objects based on their priorities, indicating a bottom-up factor. A pattern mask presented before transfer to visual working memory reduced overall performance but preserved the priority effect. These findings suggest that fragile-VSTM and iconic memory play distinct roles in feature-based attentional selection, with implications for phenomenal consciousness before conscious access.
This collection of articles presents diverse perspectives on consciousness research, including new theories and methodological frameworks. Fink proposes direct neurophenomenal structuralism linking neural structures to experience without intermediate explanations. Josipovic argues conscious awareness does not require mental representations, highlighting non-dual awareness with an implicit-explicit gradient. Oblak et al. demonstrate personalized network models can incorporate qualitative phenomenology in clinical psychiatry. Tsuchiya et al. propose the Quantum-like Qualia hypothesis, treating qualia as observables affected by measurement. Andersen's Maps of Meaning theory defines consciousness as a byproduct of goal prioritization.