Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain; Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain.
Brain, Mind, and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain.
Neuropsychologia. 2019 Jun;129:284-293. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.03.002. Epub 2019 Mar 7.
We are conscious and verbally report some of the information reaching our senses, although a big amount of information is processed unconsciously. There is no agreement about the neural correlates of consciousness, with low-level theories proposing that neural processing on primary sensory brain regions is the most important neural correlate of consciousness, while high-level theories propose that activity within the fronto-parietal network is the key component of conscious processing (Block, 2009). Contrary to the proposal of high-level theories, patients with prefrontal lobe damage do not present clinical symptoms associated to consciousness deficits. In the present study, we explored the conscious perception of near-threshold stimuli in a group of patients with right prefrontal damage and a group of matched healthy controls. Results demonstrated that perceptual contrast to perceive the near-threshold targets was related to damage to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and with reduced integrity of the ventral branch of the right superior longitudinal fascicule (SLF III). These results suggest a causal role of the prefrontal lobe in conscious processing.
我们有意识地并通过言语报告我们所感知到的部分信息，尽管大量信息是在无意识状态下处理的。对于意识的神经关联，目前还没有达成共识，低层次理论提出初级感觉脑区的神经处理是意识的最重要的神经关联，而高层次理论则提出额顶网络内的活动是意识处理的关键组成部分（Block，2009）。与高层次理论的观点相反，前额叶损伤的患者并没有出现与意识缺陷相关的临床症状。在本研究中，我们在一组右前额叶损伤患者和一组匹配的健康对照组中，探索了对近阈刺激的有意识感知。结果表明，感知近阈目标的对比与右背外侧前额叶皮层的损伤有关，与右侧上纵束（SLF III）的腹支完整性降低有关。这些结果表明，前额叶在意识处理中起着因果作用。
