Neural sources of the P300 associated with conscious perception

Ascertain the cortical generators underlying the P300 component associated with conscious perception in threshold-contrast visual tasks employing heterogeneous stimuli, clarifying the anatomical loci and network dynamics that produce this ERP signature.

Background

The P300 is frequently observed as a correlate of conscious perception and is often interpreted within global workspace frameworks implying a distributed fronto-parietal network. However, scalp EEG alone limits precise source localization.

In this study, the authors reliably observe a P300 difference between seen and unseen trials but explicitly note that they cannot determine its neural sources, leaving open the question of which cortical regions and network configurations give rise to the recorded P300 in this paradigm.

References

We cannot say anything certain about the sources of our P300, but since it is a well-studied component one can be fairly confident that a similar multi- focal network is underlying the P300 of the present study.

— General markers of conscious visual perception and their timing  (1409.2842 - Rutiku et al., 2014) in General Discussion – Theoretical implications