RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Independent neural activity patterns for sensory- and confidence-based information maintenance during category-selective visual processing
JF eneuro
JO eNeuro
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP ENEURO.0268-18.2018
DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0268-18.2018
A1 Matthew D. Weaver
A1 Johannes J. Fahrenfort
A1 Artem Belopolsky
A1 Simon van Gaal
YR 2019
UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2019/01/28/ENEURO.0268-18.2018.abstract
AB Several influential theories of consciousness attempt to explain how, when and where conscious perception arises in the brain. The extent of conscious perception of a stimulus is often probed by asking subjects to provide confidence estimations in their choices in challenging perceptual decision making tasks. Here, we aimed to dissociate neural patterns of ‘cognitive’ and ‘sensory’ information maintenance by linking category selective visual processes to decision confidence using multivariate decoding techniques on human EEG data. Participants discriminated at-threshold masked face versus house stimuli and reported confidence in their discrimination performance. Three distinct types of category-selective neural activity patterns were observed, dissociable by their timing, scalp topography, relationship with decision confidence, and generalization profile. An early (∼150–200ms) decoding profile was unrelated to confidence and quickly followed by two distinct decodable patterns of late neural activity (350–500ms). One pattern was on-diagonal, global and highly related to decision confidence, likely indicating ‘cognitive’ maintenance of consciously reportable stimulus representations. The other pattern however was off-diagonal, restricted to posterior electrode sites (local), and independent of decision confidence, and therefore may reflect ‘sensory’ maintenance of category-specific information, possibly operating via recurrent processes within visual cortices. These results highlight that two functionally independent neural processes are operating in parallel, only one of which is related to decision confidence and conscious access.Significance Statement The aim of the present study was to dissociate neural patterns of ‘cognitive’ (confidence dependent) and ‘sensory’ (confidence independent) category-selective information maintenance using multivariate decoding techniques on human EEG data. We found evidence of two functionally independent feedback-related neural processes operating in parallel. One pattern was global and related to decision confidence, likely indicating ‘cognitive’ maintenance of consciously reportable stimulus representations. The other pattern was restricted to posterior electrode sites and unrelated to decision confidence, indicating ‘sensory’ maintenance of category-specific information within visual cortices.