A leaky evidence accumulation process (LEAP) for consciousness

Introduction

How we consciously experience the world remains a mystery in science. To tackle this problem, scientific works on perceptual consciousness contrast brain activity when participants consciously perceive a stimulus versus when they are unaware of it. To report stimulus awareness, participants need to make decisions. However, the extent to which the well-studied mechanisms of decision-making apply to consciousness is unclear.

Problem Statement

One possible reason is that standard neuroimaging methods lack the sensitivity to observe whether the mechanisms of decision-making also operate in the absence of task relevance, as when participants become conscious of a stimulus irrespective of any task.

Project Overview

In this project, I will test the hypothesis that a mechanism of decision-making – evidence accumulation – explains how perceptual consciousness unfolds over time.

Methodology

1. Computational Model Development
   First, I will develop a computational model of a latent evidence accumulation process (LEAP) and test it on behavioral measures of phenomenal aspects of perceptual experience: its duration and intensity.

2. Neuronal Activity Investigation
   Second, I will search for single neuron activity in humans that instantiates evidence accumulation and test whether it also determines these phenomenal aspects of perceptual experience.

3. Brain Stimulation
   Third, I will stimulate the corresponding brain regions to disentangle their causal role in either solely triggering perceptual experience or shaping it.

4. Application to Hallucinations
   Last, I will use the LEAP model to explain hallucinatory-like experiences in patients with Parkinson's disease and test whether deep-brain stimulation affects only decision-making – as previously shown – or also perceptual experience.

Expected Outcomes

By combining computational modeling and cutting-edge electrophysiology, the LEAP project will provide unique mechanistic insights on how neuronal activity determines perceptual experience and guides its temporal dynamics. It will also provide a tool to better understand hallucinations, which remain today a major debilitating symptom in numerous psychiatric disorders.