Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29255794›Full record

ArticleeNeuro

Prestimulus EEG Power Predicts Conscious Awareness But Not Objective Visual Performance.

Christopher S Y Benwell, Chiara F Tagliabue, Domenica Veniero, Roberto Cecere, Silvia Savazzi, Gregor Thut

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eNeuro. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 92 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
92citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

92 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Randomized phase 2a trial assessing a novel septin molecular glue in Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025
    Trial
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  3. Rhythmic stimulation elicits multiple, concurrent neural responses.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026
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  5. Prior Expectations Bias Confidence Judgments Through Parietal Alpha-Band Modulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
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  10. Neural Oscillation as a Selective Modulatory Mechanism on Decision Confidence, Speed, and Accuracy.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  11. Spontaneous Alpha-Band Lateralization Extends Persistence of Visual Information in Iconic Memory by Modulating Cortical Excitability.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Shared and Diverging Neural Dynamics Underlying False and Veridical Perception.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

32 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Christopher S Y BenwellCentre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-4157-4049
Chiara F TagliabueCIMEC - Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto 38068, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4152-1668
Domenica VenieroCentre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom.
Roberto CecereCentre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-5922-5787
Silvia SavazziPerception and Awareness (PandA) Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona 8 I-37134, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5333-9046
Gregor ThutCentre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-1313-4262

Funding

Wellcome Trust 098434
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Prestimulus oscillatory neural activity has been linked to perceptual outcomes during performance of psychophysical detection and discrimination tasks. Specifically, the power and phase of low frequency oscillations have been found to predict whether an upcoming weak visual target will be detected or not. However, the mechanisms by which baseline oscillatory activity influences perception remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that the frequently reported negative relationship between α power and stimulus detection may be explained by changes in detection criterion (i.e., increased target present responses regardless of whether the target was present/absent) driven by the state of neural excitability, rather than changes in visual sensitivity (i.e., more veridical percepts). Here, we recorded EEG while human participants performed a luminance discrimination task on perithreshold stimuli in combination with single-trial ratings of perceptual awareness. Our aim was to investigate whether the power and/or phase of prestimulus oscillatory activity predict discrimination accuracy and/or perceptual awareness on a trial-by-trial basis. Prestimulus power (3-28 Hz) was inversely related to perceptual awareness ratings (i.e., higher ratings in states of low prestimulus power/high excitability) but did not predict discrimination accuracy. In contrast, prestimulus oscillatory phase did not predict awareness ratings or accuracy in any frequency band. These results provide evidence that prestimulus α power influences the level of subjective awareness of threshold visual stimuli but does not influence visual sensitivity when a decision has to be made regarding stimulus features. Hence, we find a clear dissociation between the influence of ongoing neural activity on conscious awareness and objective performance.

Indexed as

AwarenessBrainDiscrimination, PsychologicalElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansMalePhotic StimulationSignal Processing, Computer-AssistedVisual PerceptionYoung AdultattentionconsciousnessEEGoscillationsα

Identifiers

PMID29255794
PMCPMC5732016

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.