Decoding the dynamics of action, intention, and error detection for conscious and subliminal stimuli
Lucie Charles1, Jean-Rémi King, Stanislas Dehaene
1Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U992, Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, NeuroSpin Center, Saclay Center, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Division of Life Sciences, Institute of BioImaging, NeuroSpin Center, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France, Université Paris-Sud, Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, 91405 Orsay Cedex, and Collège de France, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
Summary
Conscious awareness is crucial for detecting our own errors. This study shows explicit error detection requires a conscious representation of the intended response, separate from the motor execution.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Error detection is fundamental to learning and adaptation.
- A dual-route model proposes error detection involves unconscious motor signals and conscious intention signals.
- The role of consciousness in error detection remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of consciousness in error detection.
- To test a dual-route model of error detection.
- To determine how cognitive processes leading to error detection are modulated by consciousness.
Main Methods:
- Multivariate decoding applied to single-trial magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) data.
- Human participants performed a fast bimanual number comparison task with masked digits.
- Orthogonal decoders were designed for actual response, required response, and response accuracy.
Main Results:
- Perceptual information and actual response hand were decodable in both conscious and non-conscious trials.
- The required response was only decodable during conscious trials.
- Error detection (correct vs. incorrect) was only possible with conscious perception of the target digits.
Conclusions:
- Explicit error detection necessitates a conscious representation of the desired response.
- Conscious error detection is distinct from unconscious motor execution.
- Results support a dual-route model of conscious and non-conscious evidence accumulation.
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