The nature of blindsight: implications for current theories of consciousness
Neuroscience of Consciousness January 1, 2022 Diane Derrien, Clémentine Garric, C. Sergent et al.
Blindsight refers to preserved visual abilities in people with damage to the primary visual cortex who report no visual awareness. This phenomenon has been crucial for studying consciousness. Two main models have been proposed: blindsight as perception without consciousness, or as degraded conscious vision. This article re-examines the debate using recent findings. It defines blindsight subtypes—type I, type II, and blindsense—and stresses the need for sensitive methods to reveal dissociations between perception and awareness. The authors argue that the patterns of dissociation are richer than either model suggests, and they discuss implications for current theories of consciousness.