Abstract
When visual information enters the brain, it is relayed to different specialized regions, processing features such as shape, color, or motion. And yet, in our conscious experience of a colored, moving shape, all the different features seem to be integrated into one unified percept. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that consciousness and feature binding share an intimate relationship. To study this relationship, we used a paradigm in which the behavioral effects of feature binding can be measured. Using masks, we investigated whether spontaneous binding between the orientation and location of a Gabor patch takes place when the Gabor patch is processed consciously or unconsciously. The results of our study suggest that orientation and location of a visually presented object are automatically integrated, even when subjects are unaware of that object. We conclude that binding and consciousness share a less intimate relationship than previously hypothesized, since consciousness is not a necessary condition for binding to occur.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Colzato, L. S., Raffone, A., & Hommel, B. (2006). What do we learn from binding features? Evidence for multilevel feature integration. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 32, 705–716.
Crick, F. (1996). Visual perception: Rivalry and consciousness. Nature, 397, 485–486.
Crick, F., & Koch, C. (1990). Towards a neurobiological theory of consciousness. Seminars in Neuroscience, 2, 263–275.
Dehaene, S., Naccache, L., Le Clec'H, G., Koechlin, E., Mueller, M., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., ... Le Bihan, D. (1998). Imaging unconscious semantic priming. Nature, 395, 597–600.
Dehaene, S., Jobert, A., Naccache, L., Ciuciu, P., Poline, J. B., Le Bihan, D., & Cohen, L. (2004). Letter binding and invariant recognition of masked words - Behavioral and neuroimaging evidence. Psychological Science, 15(5), 307–313.
Desmedt, J. E., & Tomberg, C. (1994). Transient phase-locking of 40 Hz electrical oscillations in prefrontal and parietal human cortex reflects the process of conscious somatic perception. Neuroscience Letters, 168(1–2), 126–129.
Engel, A. K., Fries, P., Konig, P., Brecht, M., & Singer, W. (1999). Temporal binding, binocular rivalry, and consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 8(2), 128–151.
Fazio, R. H. (2001). On the automatic activation of associated evaluations: An overview. Cognition & Emotion, 15(2), 115–141.
Greenwald, A. G., Draine, S. C., & Abrams, R. L. (1996). Three cognitive markers of unconscious semantic activation. Science, 273(5282), 1699–1702.
Hommel, B. (1998). Event files: Evidence for automatic integration of stimulus-response episodes. Visual Cognition, 5, 183–216.
Hommel, B. (2004). Event files: Feature binding in and across perception and action. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(11), 494–500.
Hommel, B., & Colzato, L. S. (2009). When an object is more than a binding of its features: Evidence for two mechanisms of visual feature integration. Visual Cognition, 17, 120–140.
Kahneman, D., Treisman, A., & Gibbs, B. J. (1992). The reviewing of object files: Object-specific integration of information. Cognitive Psychology, 24(2), 175–219.
Kanwisher, N. G., McDermott, J., & Chun, M. M. (1997). The fusiform face area: A module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception. The Journal of Neuroscience, 17(11), 4302–4311.
Kim, C.-Y., & Blake, R. (2005). Psychophysical magic: Rendering the visible ‘invisible’. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(8), 381–388.
Keizer, A. W., Nieuwenhuis, S., Colzato, L. S., Teeuwisse, W., Rombouts, S. A. R. B., & Hommel, B. (2008). When moving faces activate the house area: an fMRI study of object-file retrieval. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 4.
Kristjánson, Á. (2006). Simultaneous priming along multiple feature dimensions in a visual search task. Vision Research, 46, 2554–2570.
Kristjánson, Á. (2009). Independent and additive repetition priming of motion direction and color in visual search. Psychological Research, 73, 158–166.
Lamme, V. A. F. (2003). Why visual attention and awareness are different. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(1), 12–18.
Lamme, V. A. F. (2010). How neuroscience will change our view on consciousness. Cognitive Neuroscience, 1(3), 204–240.
Mordkoff, J. T., & Halterman, R. (2008). Feature integration without visual attention: Evidence from the correlated flankers task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(2), 385–389.
Morris, J. P., Pelphrey, K. A., & McCarthy, G. (2007). Face processing without awareness in the right fusiform gyrus. Neuropsychologia, 45, 3087–3091.
Revonsuo, A. (1999). Binding and the phenomenal unity of consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 8(2), 173–185.
Roelfsema, P. R. (2006). Cortical algorithms for perceptual grouping. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 29, 203–227.
Treisman, A. M., & Gelade, G. (1980). A feature-integration theory of attention. Cognitive Psychology, 12, 97–136.
Zeki, S. (1980). Response properties of cells in the middle temporal area (area Mt) of owl monkey visual-cortex. Proceedings Of The Royal Society Of London Series B-Biological Sciences, 207(1167), 239–248.
Zeki, S., Watson, J. D. G., Lueck, C. J., Friston, K. J., Kennard, C., & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1991). A direct demonstration of functional specialization in human visual cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience, 11(3), 641–649.
Zmigrod, S., & Hommel, B. (2009). Auditory event files: Integrating auditory perception and action planning. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71(2), 352–362.
Acknowledgments
Victor A. F. Lamme is supported by an advanced investigator grant from the European Research Council. We would like to thank Simon van Gaal for his comments on the design of the experiment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keizer, A.W., Hommel, B. & Lamme, V. Consciousness is not necessary for visual feature binding. Psychon Bull Rev 22, 453–460 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0706-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-014-0706-2