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The brain detects stimulus features, but not stimulus conflict in task-irrelevant sensory input

View ORCID ProfileStijn A. Nuiten, View ORCID ProfileAndrés Canales-Johnson, Lola Beerendonk, Nutsa Nanuashvili, View ORCID ProfileJohannes J. Fahrenfort, View ORCID ProfileTristan Bekinschtein, View ORCID ProfileSimon van Gaal
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/596999
Stijn A. Nuiten
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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  • For correspondence: stijnnuiten@gmail.com
Andrés Canales-Johnson
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, United Kingdom
4Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Lola Beerendonk
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Nutsa Nanuashvili
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Johannes J. Fahrenfort
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Tristan Bekinschtein
3Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, United Kingdom
4Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Simon van Gaal
1Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Amsterdam Brain & Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 129-B, 1018 WT Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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  • For correspondence: stijnnuiten@gmail.com
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Abstract

Cognitive control over conflicting sensory input is central to adaptive human behavior. It might therefore not come as a surprise that past research has shown conflict detection in the absence of conscious awareness. This would suggest that the brain may detect conflict fully automatically, and that it can even occur without paying attention. Contrary to this intuition, we show that task-relevance is crucial for conflict detection. Univariate and multivariate analyses on electroencephalographic data from human participants revealed that when auditory stimuli are fully task-irrelevant, the brain disregards conflicting input entirely, whereas the same input elicits strong neural conflict signals when task-relevant. In sharp contrast, stimulus features were still processed, irrespective of task-relevance. These results show that stimulus properties are only integrated to allow conflict to be detected by prefrontal regions when sensory information is task-relevant and therefore suggests an attentional bottleneck at high levels of information analysis.

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Posted April 02, 2019.
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The brain detects stimulus features, but not stimulus conflict in task-irrelevant sensory input
Stijn A. Nuiten, Andrés Canales-Johnson, Lola Beerendonk, Nutsa Nanuashvili, Johannes J. Fahrenfort, Tristan Bekinschtein, Simon van Gaal
bioRxiv 596999; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/596999
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The brain detects stimulus features, but not stimulus conflict in task-irrelevant sensory input
Stijn A. Nuiten, Andrés Canales-Johnson, Lola Beerendonk, Nutsa Nanuashvili, Johannes J. Fahrenfort, Tristan Bekinschtein, Simon van Gaal
bioRxiv 596999; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/596999

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