Beyond primary visual cortex: The leading role of lateral occipital complex in early conscious visual processing

• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120805
• Publication Date: 2024-08-23T00:01:52Z
• Authors: Elisabetta Colombari; Giorgia Parisi; Alessandra Tafuro; Sonia Mele; Chiara Mazzi; Silvia Savazzi
• Keywords: Visual processing; Occipital lobe; N2pc

The study of the neural substrates that serve conscious vision is one unsolved questions cognitive neuroscience. So far, consciousness literature has endeavoured to disentangle which brain areas and in what order are involved giving rise visual awareness, but problem still remains unsolved. Availing two different complementary sources data (i.e., Fast Optical Imaging EEG), we sought unravel dynamics responsible for emergence a experience. Our results revealed characterized by significant increase activation extra-striate areas, specifically Lateral Occipital Complex (LOC), that, more interestingly, such activity occurred temporal window ERP component commonly thought represent electrophysiological signature i.e., Visual Awareness Negativity (VAN). Furthermore, Granger causality analysis, performed further investigate flow occurring investigated unveiled processes relating perception mainly originated LOC subsequently spread towards motor areas. In general, present seem advocate an early contribution vision, thus suggesting it could reliable correlate awareness. Conversely, striate showing awareness-related only later stages stimulus processing, be part cascade events following awareness emergence.