Subcortical Arousal in Perceptual Awareness

Overview

The study is a multi-site study and will be conducted at up to 11 investigative sites in the United States. The study will investigate subcortical arousal circuits in visual perception using techniques with complementary strengths based on promising initial studies.

The study will investigate subcortical arousal circuits in visual perception using techniques with complementary strengths based on promising initial studies. This study is expected to shed important light on the precise relationship between transient increases in subcortical arousal and perceptual awareness, generalizable across the visual modality. This research will therefore provide important general potential benefits, including 1. Identification of subcortical arousal systems in perception, which can benefit treatment of many disorders where perceptual deficits are common, e.g. traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, developmental disorders, schizophrenia, epilepsy and others. 2. Understanding the role of specific subcortical arousal circuits in perception may help target improved treatments, including transient thalamic stimulation like that planned for the present investigations, or less invasive treatments (TMS, tDCS, designer drugs) to improve function of these circuits. 3. The planned no-report paradigms may detect perceptual awareness in severe brain damage and anesthesia, where people are unable to overtly respond. The main hypotheses are that 1. the thalamic awareness potential (TAP) will be associated with visual perception independent of report, and 2. thalamic intralaminar stimulation at the time of stimulus presentation will augment the probability of perceptual awareness.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (8)

Outcomes

Central Contacts