We're pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Pitts from Reed College in Portland, OR to deliver his talk: "Isolating neural correlates of perceptual awareness from sensory input and task performance" on Friday the 7th from 2-3pm in Xavier 201. All are welcome to attend. 

Abstract:
What’s the difference between conscious and unconscious processing in the brain? Over the years, many experiments and larger theoretical frameworks have been developed to address this question. In this talk, I will review my lab’s contributions to the search for the minimally sufficient neural correlates of conscious perception. I will focus on data from “no report” paradigms aimed at isolating perceptual awareness from both sensory stimulation and task-related cognition. While initial results from such paradigms appeared to favor early localized processes in posterior cortex, more recent studies suggest a multi-stage account of conscious processing involving both early posterior and late frontal contributions. A case will be made for selectively integrating across competing theories of consciousness that may each explain only one key step in the multi-step process underlying perceptual awareness.