De-confounding the neural constitution of phenomenal consciousness from attention, report and memory

A chapter examines confounds that must be controlled when studying the neural basis of phenomenal conscious perception. It reviews psychological and neural studies that dissociate attention, report, and memory from phenomenal consciousness, discussing phenomena such as aftereffects, change blindness, inattentional blindness, and brain-imaging results whose implications for consciousness theory may be contaminated by these factors. The chapter also considers whether report and memory are necessary or sufficient for phenomenal consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss possible confounds that need to be carefully controlled for when the neural constitution of phenomenal conscious perception is studied. First, we discuss previous psychological or neural studies that clearly dissociated confounding factors (in particular, attention, report and memory) from phenomenal consciousness. We discuss several important phenomena and experimental methods (e.g., aftereffects, change blindness and inattentional blindness, and brain-imaging results) whose implications for the theory of consciousness might be contaminated by the influence of attention, report and memory. Finally, we discuss necessity and sufficiency of report and memory for phenomenal consciousness.