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Imaging unconscious semantic priming

Author

Listed:
  • Stanislas Dehaene

    (INSERM U.334, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Lionel Naccache

    (INSERM U.334, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Gurvan Le Clec'H

    (INSERM U.334, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Etienne Koechlin

    (INSERM U.334, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Michael Mueller

    (INSERM U.334, Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz

    (Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, EHESS/CNRS)

  • Pierre-FranÇois van de Moortele

    (Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

  • Denis Le Bihan

    (Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, CEA/DRM/DSV)

Abstract

Visual words that are masked and presented so briefly that they cannot be seen may nevertheless facilitate the subsequent processing of related words, a phenomenon called masked priming1,2. It has been debated whether masked primes can activate cognitive processes without gaining access to consciousness3,4,5. Here we use a combination of behavioural and brain-imaging techniques to estimate the depth of processing of masked numerical primes. Our results indicate that masked stimuli have a measurable influence on electrical and haemodynamic measures of brain activity. When subjects engage in an overt semantic comparison task with a clearly visible target numeral, measures of covert motor activity indicate that they also unconsciously apply the task instructions to an unseen masked numeral. A stream of perceptual, semantic and motor processes can therefore occur without awareness.

Suggested Citation

  • Stanislas Dehaene & Lionel Naccache & Gurvan Le Clec'H & Etienne Koechlin & Michael Mueller & Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz & Pierre-FranÇois van de Moortele & Denis Le Bihan, 1998. "Imaging unconscious semantic priming," Nature, Nature, vol. 395(6702), pages 597-600, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:395:y:1998:i:6702:d:10.1038_26967
    DOI: 10.1038/26967
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Floris P de Lange & Simon van Gaal & Victor A F Lamme & Stanislas Dehaene, 2011. "How Awareness Changes the Relative Weights of Evidence During Human Decision-Making," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-10, November.
    2. Ellen Joos & Anne Giersch & Kriti Bhatia & Sven P Heinrich & Ludger Tebartz van Elst & Jürgen Kornmeier, 2020. "Using the perceptual past to predict the perceptual future influences the perceived present – A novel ERP paradigm," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(9), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Jürgen Kornmeier & Kriti Bhatia & Ellen Joos, 2021. "Top-down resolution of visual ambiguity – knowledge from the future or footprints from the past?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-29, October.
    4. Richard Morey & Jeffrey Rouder & Paul Speckman, 2009. "A Truncated-Probit Item Response Model for Estimating Psychophysical Thresholds," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 74(4), pages 603-618, December.
    5. Jesal Sheth, 2019. "Disclosure of information under competition: An experimental study," Discussion Papers 2019-04, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    6. Pablo Garaizar & Miguel A Vadillo & Diego López-de-Ipiña, 2014. "Presentation Accuracy of the Web Revisited: Animation Methods in the HTML5 Era," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(10), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Sheth, Jesal D., 2021. "Disclosure of information under competition: An experimental study," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 158-180.
    8. Ariel Goldstein & Ido Rivlin & Alon Goldstein & Yoni Pertzov & Ran R Hassin, 2020. "Predictions from masked motion with and without obstacles," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-35, November.

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