Research project Neural Mechanisms of Auditory Awareness
How does the brain enable us to experience something consciously? This question has been studied extensively in vision, but it is unclear whether the mechanisms are similar for hearing.
Our previous research suggests that the early neural correlates of auditory awareness are similar to those in vision. However, this research is limited because it is only correlational. Accordingly, the neural sources in the brain are unknown and their causal role in awareness have not been demonstrated.
The goals of the proposed research are, first, to localize the source of the early neural correlates of auditory awareness, and second, to manipulate brain activity in the located regions to demonstrate their causal role. The findings will provide important input to the current theoretical debate about the causal role of early processes in awareness.
Project members
Project managers
Stefan Wiens
Professor
