Availability of unconscious information in human visual cortex: behavioural and neuroimaging experiments with graspable objetcs

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Guido Hesselmann
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2011 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 194491234

According to a very influential vision model, the dual-pathway model, the primate visual system is divided into a ventral "vision-for-perception" pathway and a dorsal "vision-for-action" pathway. Among the model's core characteristics is the assumption that ventral stream processes are closely associated with conscious perception, whereas processing in the dorsal stream can occur without giving rise to awareness. The model is primarily based on neurophysiology, single-cell recordings and lesion studies in non-human primates, as well as neuropsychological experiments with brain lesioned patients. In neurologically intact participants, however, evidence for perception-action dissociations has so far been scarce and controversial. The proposed research program aims to better understand the relative contribution of the dorsal and ventral stream to nonconscious and conscious visual processing in the healthy brain. Ultimately, the results of the proposed research (involving behavioral and neuroimaging experiments) will help to refine one of the most influential models in cognitive neuroscience.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants