The Behavioral and brain sciences
July 22, 2025
François Stockart, Maor Schreiber, Pietro Amerio et al.
20 citations
The scope of unconscious processing remains hotly debated, driven by diverse methods for manipulating and measuring perceptual awareness. Through dialogue among researchers with varied theoretical backgrounds, ten recommendations and nine outstanding issues are provided for designing experimental paradigms, analyzing data, and reporting results. These guidelines aim to evoke discussion about norms in studying unconscious processes and help researchers make informed decisions. While some recommendations may not align with existing approaches and will likely evolve, they are intended to foster a more convergent understanding of the extent and limits of unconscious processing.
Psychological medicine
February 1, 2024
Pavo Orepic, Fosco Bernasconi, Melissa Faggella et al.
9 citations
A robotic procedure that creates sensorimotor conflicts and a feeling of another person's presence can induce auditory-verbal hallucination (AVH)-like sensations in healthy individuals. In two studies, participants showed increased false alarm rates on a voice detection task. Stronger sensorimotor conflicts led to more AVH-like sensations, supporting the self-monitoring deficit account. The otherness condition produced more false alarms when detecting other-voice stimuli than self-voice stimuli, consistent with the strong perceptual priors account. The findings integrate both theoretical models of AVH.
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior
November 1, 2019
Jean-Paul Noel, Nathan Faivre, Elisa Magosso et al.
6 citations
Artificial neural networks built with feedback connections from multisensory to unisensory cortices, consistent with all-or-none models of conscious access, produced intermediate reaction times when multisensory stimuli were associated with unisensory feedback. In psychophysical testing with 29 subjects completing 10 hours of a multisensory cue-congruency task, reaction times to multisensory cues reported as unisensory fell between those of fully aware and fully unaware cues. These results suggest that graded forms of phenomenal consciousness can arise from neural networks that follow all-or-none principles.
Trends in cognitive sciences
December 17, 2025
Liad Mudrik, Nathan Faivre, Michael Pitts et al.
5 citations
A major controversy in consciousness science divides sensory and cognitive theories. Reexamining Block's 1995 distinction between phenomenal consciousness (P) and access consciousness (A), the authors argue that P and A are not two different types of consciousness but two necessary conditions for consciousness. This conceptual shift helps resolve unresolved questions about neural mechanisms, functions of consciousness, and its relationship with attention. The proposal motivates selective unification across different classes of theories.
eLife
May 22, 2025
Michael Pereira, Nathan Faivre, Fosco Bernasconi et al.
3 citations
Neurons in the subthalamic nucleus and thalamus, subcortical brain regions traditionally linked to motor and cognitive control, also play a role in perceptual consciousness. Recording single-neuron activity in patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery, researchers found that a significant proportion of these neurons changed their firing rate while participants anticipated a weak vibrotactile stimulus. The firing rate of 23% of these neurons differed between detected and undetected stimuli. This direct neurophysiological evidence suggests that subcortical structures contribute to conscious detection, challenging the prevailing cortico-centric view of the neural correlates of consciousness.
Neuroscience of consciousness
January 1, 2025
Shaked Palgi, Tamara Bester-Arest, Nathan Faivre et al.
Unconscious mental processing may not extend to integrating relationships between objects. In five experiments, participants viewed pairs of objects that were either related (e.g., a lock and key) or unrelated, presented either visibly or invisibly through masking. When pairs were visible, behavioral priming and a larger N400 brain response occurred for unrelated versus related pairs, indicating relational processing. When pairs were invisible—verified by subjective and objective awareness measures—no differences in N400 amplitude were found, and decoding of pair relations from brain activity was no better than chance. The results suggest that consciousness is needed for integrating relationships beyond single objects, supporting theories that emphasize consciousness's role in relational integration.
bioRxiv Preprint Server
January 27, 2023
Michael Pereira, Nathan Faivre, Fosco Bernasconi et al.
preprint
Neurons in the subthalamic nucleus and thalamus, subcortical brain structures, modulate their activity during expectation of a weak vibrotactile stimulus on the hand, and 23% of these neurons show firing rates that differ between detected and undetected stimuli. This provides direct neurophysiological evidence that these subcortical regions are involved in perceptual consciousness, challenging the prevailing cortico-centric view.