Similar frontal and distinct posterior cortical regions mediate visual and auditory perceptual awareness.

Activity in ventral visual cortex is a consistent neural correlate of visual consciousness. However, activity in this area seems insufficient to produce awareness without additional involvement of frontoparietal regions. To test the generality of the frontoparietal response, neural correlates of auditory awareness were investigated in a paradigm that previously has revealed frontoparietal activity during conscious visual perception. A within-experiment comparison showed that frontal regions were related to both visual and auditory awareness, whereas parietal activity was correlated with visual awareness and superior temporal activity with auditory awareness. These results indicate that frontal regions interact with specific posterior regions to produce awareness in different sensory modalities.