title: Changes in connectivity profiles as a mechanism for strategic control over interfering subliminal information.
abstract: Human behavior can be influenced by information that is not consciously perceived. Recent behavioral and electrophysiological evidence suggests, however, that the processing of subliminal stimuli is not completely beyond an observer's conscious control. The present study aimed to characterize the cortical network that implements strategic control over interfering subliminal information at multiple stages. Fourteen participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning while performing a metacontrast masking paradigm. We systematically varied the amount of conflicting versus non-conflicting trials across experimental blocks, and behavioral performance demonstrated strategic effects whenever a high proportion of subliminal prime stimuli induced response competition. A psychophysiological interaction analysis revealed the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) to exhibit context-dependent covariation with activation in the lateral occipital complex (LOC) and the putamen. The pre-SMA thereby appears to fulfill a superordinate function in the control of processing subliminal information by simultaneously modulating perceptual analysis and motor selection.
authors.affiliation: NeuroImage Nord, Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. wolbers@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolbers
authors.forename: Eszter D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Schoell
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verleger
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jaskowski
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büchel
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D013360:Subliminal Stimulation; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology