Correlates of perceptual awareness in human primary auditory cortex revealed by an informational masking experiment

The presence of an auditory event may remain undetected in crowded environments, even when it is well above the sensory threshold. This effect, commonly known as informational masking, allows for isolating neural activity related to perceptual awareness, by comparing repetitions of the same physical...

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Hauptverfasser: Wiegand, Katrin (VerfasserIn) , Gutschalk, Alexander (VerfasserIn)
Dokumenttyp: Article (Journal)
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: 15 May 2012
In: NeuroImage
Year: 2012, Jahrgang: 61, Heft: 1, Pages: 62-69
ISSN:1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.02.067
Online-Zugang:Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.02.067
Verlag, Volltext: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811912002522
Volltext
Verfasserangaben:Katrin Wiegand, Alexander Gutschalk
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The presence of an auditory event may remain undetected in crowded environments, even when it is well above the sensory threshold. This effect, commonly known as informational masking, allows for isolating neural activity related to perceptual awareness, by comparing repetitions of the same physical stimulus where the target is either detected or not. Evidence from magnetoencephalography (MEG) suggests that auditory-cortex activity in the latency range 50-250ms is closely coupled with perceptual awareness. Here, BOLD fMRI and MEG were combined to investigate at which stage in the auditory cortex neural correlates of conscious auditory perception can be observed. Participants were asked to indicate the perception of a regularly repeating target tone, embedded within a random multi-tone masking background. Results revealed widespread activation within the auditory cortex for detected target tones, which was delayed but otherwise similar to the activation of an unmasked control stimulus. The contrast of detected versus undetected targets revealed activity confined to medial Heschl's gyrus, where the primary auditory cortex is located. These results suggest that activity related to conscious perception involves the primary auditory cortex and is not restricted to activity in secondary areas.
Beschreibung:Gesehen am 05.11.2018
Beschreibung:Online Resource
ISSN:1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.02.067