Synchronization of neural activity across cortical areas correlates with conscious perception

Melloni, L; Molina C.; Pena M.; Torres D.; Singer, W; Rodríguez. E.

Abstract

Subliminal stimuli can be deeply processed and activate similar brain areas as consciously perceived stimuli. This raises the question which signatures of neural activity critically differentiate conscious from unconscious processing. Transient synchronization of neural activity has been proposed as a neural correlate of conscious perception. Here we test this proposal by comparing the electrophysiological responses related to the processing of visible and invisible words in a delayed matching to sample task. Both perceived and nonperceived words caused a similar increase of local (gamma) oscillations in the EEG, but only perceived words induced a transient long-distance synchronization of gamma oscillations across widely separated regions of the brain. After this transient period of temporal coordination, the electrographic signatures of conscious and unconscious processes continue to diverge. Only words reported as perceived induced (1) enhanced theta oscillations over frontal regions during the maintenance interval, (2) an increase of the P300 component of the event-related potential, and (3) an increase in power and phase synchrony of gamma oscillations before the anticipated presentation of the test word. We propose that the critical process mediating the access to conscious perception is the early transient global increase of phase synchrony of oscillatory activity in the gamma frequency range. Copyright © 2007 Society for Neuroscience.

Más información

Título según WOS: Synchronization of neural activity across cortical areas correlates with conscious perception
Título según SCOPUS: Synchronization of neural activity across cortical areas correlates with conscious perception
Título de la Revista: JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volumen: 27
Número: 11
Editorial: SOC NEUROSCIENCE
Fecha de publicación: 2007
Página de inicio: 2858
Página final: 2865
Idioma: English
URL: http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/doi/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4623-06.2007
DOI:

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4623-06.2007

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS