Using multivariate decoding to go beyond contrastive analyses in consciousness research.
Contrasting conditions with and without awareness has been the preferred method for investigating the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) for decades, yet recently it has been suggested that further insights can be made by moving beyond this method, specifically by meticulously controlling that potential precursors and consequences of the NCC are not mistaken for an NCC. Here, we briefly review the advantages and potential pitfalls of existing paradigms going beyond the contrastive method, and we propose multivariate decoding of neural activity patterns as a supplement to other methods. Specifically, we emphasize the ability of multivariate decoding to detect which patterns of neural activity are consistently predictive of conscious experiences at the single trial level. This is relevant as the "NCC proper" is expected to be consistently predictive whereas processes that are consequences of consciousness may not occur on every trial (making them less predictive) and prerequisites of consciousness may be present on some trials without conscious experience (making them less predictive).
Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Hammel Neurorehabilitation Centre and University Research Clinic, Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark ; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London London, UK.
Kristian
K
Sandberg
Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark.
Lau M
LM
Andersen
Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Hammel Neurorehabilitation Centre and University Research Clinic, Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark ; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University Aalborg, Denmark.
Morten
M
Overgaard
MEG; consciousness; contrastive analyses; fMRI; multivariate decoding; multivariate pattern analysis