Sequential neural dynamics underlie unconscious integration and conscious perception of visual stimuli
PLoS Biology July 6, 2026 Maëlan Q. Menétrey, Michael H. Herzog, David Pascucci
In the Sequential Metacontrast (SQM) paradigm, later visual stimuli alter the perception of earlier ones, indicating that conscious perception can follow extended unconscious processing. Using EEG recordings in humans, researchers identified two distinct neural activity stages: an early occipital pattern around 200 milliseconds after the initial vernier, linked to unconscious processing, and a later centro-parietal pattern between 400 and 600 milliseconds after SQM onset, associated with the integrated percept and behavioral report. The transition between these patterns marks the shift from unconscious encoding of individual visual stimuli to their integrated conscious percept.