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Should a few null findings falsify prefrontal theories of conscious perception?

Brian Odegaard, Robert T. Knight, Hakwan Lau
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/122267
Brian Odegaard
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
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Robert T. Knight
2Helen Willis Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley
3Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
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Hakwan Lau
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
4Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
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Abstract

Is activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) critical for conscious perception? Major theories of consciousness make distinct predictions about the role of PFC, providing an opportunity to arbitrate between these views empirically. Here we address three common misconceptions: i) PFC lesions do not affect subjective perception; ii) PFC activity does not reflect specific perceptual content; iii) PFC involvement in studies of perceptual awareness is solely driven by the need to make reports required by the experimental tasks, rather than subjective experience per se. These claims are incompatible with empirical findings, unless one focuses only on studies using methods with limited sensitivity. The literature highlights PFC’s essential role in enabling the subjective experience in perception, contra the objective capacity to perform visual tasks; conflating the two can also be a source of confusion.

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Posted March 30, 2017.
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Should a few null findings falsify prefrontal theories of conscious perception?
Brian Odegaard, Robert T. Knight, Hakwan Lau
bioRxiv 122267; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/122267
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Should a few null findings falsify prefrontal theories of conscious perception?
Brian Odegaard, Robert T. Knight, Hakwan Lau
bioRxiv 122267; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/122267

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