Academic Journal
Linguistic cues do not influence subliminal visual processing - An electrophysiological study.
| Τίτλος: | Linguistic cues do not influence subliminal visual processing - An electrophysiological study. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Ching ASM; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia. Electronic address: april.ching@westernsydney.edu.au., Kim J; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia. Electronic address: j.kim@westernsydney.edu.au., Davis C; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia. Electronic address: chris.davis@westernsydney.edu.au. |
| Πηγή: | Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior [Cortex] 2026 Jun; Vol. 199, pp. 36-53. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Mar 17. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Masson Country of Publication: Italy NLM ID: 0100725 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1973-8102 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00109452 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Cortex Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Milan : Masson Original Publication: Varese. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Visual Perception*/physiology , Evoked Potentials*/physiology , Cues*, Photic Stimulation/methods ; Reaction Time/physiology ; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Young Adult ; Electroencephalography ; Adult ; Linguistics ; Subliminal Stimulation |
| Περίληψη: | This preregistered study investigated whether linguistic information can influence low-level visual perception. We argue that many previous studies supporting this view have significant shortcomings. Specifically, these studies conflate measures of objective performance with those of subjective experience, and cannot exclude the possibility that their observed effects might have been mediated by post-sensory processes instead (e.g., semantics, memory). To address these issues, our paradigm combined elements from two published studies by Sekar et al. (2013) and Lupyan and Ward (2013). Participants (N = 20) observed and rated visual targets of fixed intensity corresponding to their 50% identification threshold; visual targets were preceded by nonpredictive speech cues which matched or mismatched the target. Participants carried out an identification task and rated their subjective experience ("didn't see", "couldn't identify", "unsure", and "sure"), while event-related potentials were recorded. We found that identification of targets that remained unseen ("didn't see") was not facilitated by congruent cues, but was impaired by incongruent cues. In addition, cue congruence did not affect the relative frequency of nonconscious ("didn't see") to conscious visual experiences, nor did it affect the amplitude of the Visual Awareness Negativity, an electrophysiological correlate of visual awareness. The results indicate that language cues did not enhance the processing of subliminal visual inputs, nor boost them into conscious experience. This outcome aligns with accounts of low-level perception that exclude the influence of linguistic or conceptual knowledge. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Cognitive penetration; Event-related potentials; Top-down processing; Visual perception |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260328 Date Completed: 20260713 Latest Revision: 20260713 |
| Update Code: | 20260714 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.03.010 |
| PMID: | 41903471 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1973-8102 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.03.010 |