Lau Hakwan C, Passingham Richard E
Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Dec 5;103(49):18763-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0607716103. Epub 2006 Nov 21.
By using a paradigm based on metacontrast masking, we created experimental conditions in which the subjective report of consciousness differs but the objectively measured ability to discriminate visual targets does not. This approach allowed us to study the neural correlate of consciousness while having performance levels carefully matched in healthy human subjects. A comparison of the neural activity associated with these conditions as measured by functional MRI showed that conscious perception is associated with spatially specific activity in the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (area 46). Further analysis confirms that this activation is not only free from any performance confound, but is also not driven by differences in the timing of the physical stimuli. Our results suggest that the prefrontal cortex is important for the essentially subjective aspects of conscious perception.
通过使用基于元对比掩蔽的范式，我们创建了这样的实验条件：意识的主观报告不同，但客观测量的视觉目标辨别能力没有差异。这种方法使我们能够在健康人类受试者的表现水平得到仔细匹配的情况下，研究意识的神经关联。通过功能磁共振成像测量，对与这些条件相关的神经活动进行比较，结果表明，有意识的感知与背外侧前额叶皮质中部（46区）的空间特异性活动有关。进一步分析证实，这种激活不仅不受任何表现混淆因素的影响，而且也不是由物理刺激时间上的差异所驱动。我们的结果表明，前额叶皮质对于有意识感知的基本主观方面很重要。
