Behavior in Oblivion: The Neurobiology of Subliminal Priming

Subliminal priming—behavioral changes caused by an unseen stimulus—is a form of unconscious visual processing. Theories of recurrent processing propose that consciousness arises from non-hierarchical feedback loops in the brain, while unconscious subliminal priming relies on the initial feedforward sweep of visual information. Evidence increasingly supports the necessity of recurrent connectivity for visual awareness, though whether global or local recurrence is required remains unclear. Recurrent processing alone is not sufficient for consciousness. The neural correlates of subliminal priming deserve more attention because understanding them can explain why people exhibit certain behaviors, even without awareness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Subliminal priming refers to behavioral modulation by an unconscious stimulus, and can thus be regarded as a form of unconscious visual processing. Theories on recurrent processing have suggested that the neural correlate of consciousness (NCC) comprises of the non-hierarchical transfer of stimulus-related information. According to these models, the neural correlate of subliminal priming (NCSP) corresponds to the visual processing within the feedforward sweep. Research from cognitive neuroscience on these two concepts and the relationship between them is discussed here. Evidence favoring the necessity of recurrent connectivity for visual awareness is accumulating, although some questions, such as the need for global versus local recurrent processing, are not clarified yet. However, this is not to say that recurrent processing is sufficient for consciousness, as a neural definition of consciousness in terms of recurrent connectivity would imply. We argue that the limited interest cognitive neuroscience currently has for the NCSP is undeserved, because the discovery of the NCSP can give insight into why people do (and do not) express certain behavior.