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Involvement of Visual Mismatch Negativity in Access Processing to Visual Awareness
Yuki Kurita1, Tomokazu Urakawa1, Osamu Araki1
1Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|November 22, 2021
Summary
Visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) may play a role in accessing visual awareness (APVA) before conscious perception. This study suggests vMMN is involved in unconscious neural processing during early visual stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psychophysics
Background:
- Conscious visual perception is linked to neural events like visual awareness negativity and P3 enhancement (200-300 ms post-stimulus).
- The processing stages immediately preceding conscious awareness, termed access processing to visual awareness (APVA), are less understood.
- Visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), an automatic change detection response (130-250 ms), has been observed for unconsciously perceived stimuli.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential role of vMMN in APVA.
- To determine if automatic visual change detection influences the transition to conscious visual awareness.
Main Methods:
- A modified oddball paradigm was employed within a binocular rivalry setup.
- Participants' neural responses were measured, focusing on vMMN amplitude and perceptual alternation rates.
Main Results:
- A significant correlation was found between enhanced vMMN amplitude and faster perceptual alternations.
- This effect was observed when an unconsciously perceived deviant stimulus was presented.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a novel role for vMMN in APVA, linking automatic change detection to the pre-conscious stage of visual processing.
- Attentional mechanisms associated with vMMN may be crucial for unconscious neural processing in early visual awareness.
Keywords:
binocular rivalryevent-related potentialfast visual processingunconscious processingvisual awarenessvisual mismatch negativityMore Related Videos
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