TY - JOUR
T1 - Phasic auditory alerting improves visual conscious perception
AU - Kusnir, Flor
AU - Chica, Ana B.
AU - Mitsumasu, Manuel A.
AU - Bartolomeo, Paolo
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Attention is often conceived as a gateway to consciousness (Posner, 1994). Although endogenous spatial attention may be independent of conscious perception (CP) (Koch Tsuchiya, 2007), exogenous spatial orienting seems instead to be an important modulator of CP (Chica, Lasaponara, Lupiáñez, Doricchi, & Bartolomeo, 2010; Chica, Lasaponara, et al., 2011). Here, we investigate the role of auditory alerting in CP in normal observers. We used a behavioral task in which phasic alerting tones were presented either at unpredictable or at predictable time intervals prior to the occurrence of a near-threshold visual target. We find, for the first time in neurologically intact observers, that phasic alertness increases CP, both objectively and subjectively. This result is consistent with evidence showing that phasic alerting can ameliorate the spatial bias exhibited by visual neglect patients (Robertson, Mattingley, Rorden, & Driver, 1998). The alerting network may increase the activity of fronto-parietal networks involved in top-down amplification required to bring a stimulus into consciousness (Dehaene, Changeux, Naccache, Sackur, & Sergent, 2006).
AB - Attention is often conceived as a gateway to consciousness (Posner, 1994). Although endogenous spatial attention may be independent of conscious perception (CP) (Koch Tsuchiya, 2007), exogenous spatial orienting seems instead to be an important modulator of CP (Chica, Lasaponara, Lupiáñez, Doricchi, & Bartolomeo, 2010; Chica, Lasaponara, et al., 2011). Here, we investigate the role of auditory alerting in CP in normal observers. We used a behavioral task in which phasic alerting tones were presented either at unpredictable or at predictable time intervals prior to the occurrence of a near-threshold visual target. We find, for the first time in neurologically intact observers, that phasic alertness increases CP, both objectively and subjectively. This result is consistent with evidence showing that phasic alerting can ameliorate the spatial bias exhibited by visual neglect patients (Robertson, Mattingley, Rorden, & Driver, 1998). The alerting network may increase the activity of fronto-parietal networks involved in top-down amplification required to bring a stimulus into consciousness (Dehaene, Changeux, Naccache, Sackur, & Sergent, 2006).
KW - Acoustic Stimulation
KW - Adult
KW - Attention
KW - Consciousness
KW - Cues
KW - Discrimination (Psychology)
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Photic Stimulation
KW - Psychomotor Performance
KW - Reaction Time
KW - Signal Detection, Psychological
KW - Visual Perception
KW - Young Adult
KW - Acoustic Stimulation
KW - Adult
KW - Attention
KW - Consciousness
KW - Cues
KW - Discrimination (Psychology)
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Photic Stimulation
KW - Psychomotor Performance
KW - Reaction Time
KW - Signal Detection, Psychological
KW - Visual Perception
KW - Young Adult
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/12258
U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2011.01.012
DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2011.01.012
M3 - Article
SN - 1053-8100
VL - 20
SP - 1201
EP - 1210
JO - Consciousness and Cognition
JF - Consciousness and Cognition
ER -