An Active Role of Inferior Frontal Cortex in Conscious Experience

An active role of prefrontal cortex in conscious experience

Authored by Veith Weilnhammer and The Visual Perception Lab

Conscious Experience

Sensory Inputs

Motor & Executive Function

Attention

Experimental Dissociation

Bistable Perception

Predictive Coding

Model-based fMRI

Prediction errors are encoded in IFC and V5/hMT+.

Model-based fMRI

Prediction errors are fed forward from V5/hMT+ to IFC.

Model-based fMRI

Perceptual content can be decoded from V5/hMT+.

Model-based fMRI

Prediction errors are generated in suppressed V5/hMT+ voxels.

Feedforward Processing

Suppressed voxels in V5/hMT+ encode perceptual conflict.
IFC receives feedforward information about perceptual conflict.

Feedback processing

Is the prefrontal representation of perceptual conflict relevant for conscious experience?
Causal intervention: Theta-burst induces virtual lesions in prefrontal cortex.

TMS

Hybrid model

IFC detects and resolves perceptual conflict during bistable perception.
Prefrontal cortex regulates the access of conflicting information into awareness

Summary

Outlook

Confidence

Computational Psychiatry

Thanks a lot for your attention!

Literature

Weilnhammer, Fritsch, Chikermane, Eckert, Kathak, Stuke, Sterzer. An Active Role of Inferior Frontal Cortex in Conscious Experience. Current Biology 2021.

Weilnhammer VA, Chikermane M, Sterzer P. Bistable perception alternates between internal and external modes of sensory processing. iScience 2021

Weilnhammer, Lukas, Eckert, Stuke, Heinz, Sterzer. Psychotic Experiences in Schizophrenia and Sensitivity to Sensory Evidence. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2020.

Weilnhammer, Stuke, Sterzer, Schmack. Hierarchical Predictions for Perceptual Decisions. Journal of Neuroscience 2018.

Weilnhammer, Stuke, Hesselmann, Sterzer, Schmack. A Predictive Coding Account of Bistable Perception. PLOS Computational Biology 2017.

Schmack, Weilnhammer, Heinzle, Stephan, Sterzer. Learning what to See in a Changing World. Frontiers in Humans Neurocience 2016.