Top-down modulation of unconscious 'automatic' processes: A gating framework.
Top-down modulation of unconscious 'automatic' processes: A gating framework.
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DOI：
10.2478/v10053-008-0032-2
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发表时间：
2008-07-15
影响因子：
1.2
通讯作者：
Kiefer M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kiefer M
在经典的自动性理论中，自动化过程通常被认为是自主发生的，独立于更高级别的自上而下因素(例如)。然而，诺伊曼已经指出，认知系统必须以某种方式配置，才能发生自动过程。作为他工作的扩展，我提出了一个门控框架来解释注意、意图和任务设置等自上而下因素对掩蔽反应或语义启动等自动过程的影响。假设前额叶皮层的任务表征调节视觉和语义联结皮层神经元的增益，从而调节无意识知觉的掩蔽刺激对进一步的自动信息加工步骤的影响。为了支持假设的门控框架，最近的研究证明了一种自上而下的自动过程调制。采用掩蔽反应启动和语义启动范式的行为和电生理研究表明，掩蔽启动效应主要依赖于(I)对掩蔽启动的时间注意，(Ii)意图或行动计划，以及(Iii)在掩蔽启动呈现之前立即激活的任务集。例如，掩蔽语义启动仅在前一任务集要求定向到语义词特征时才被观察到，而当它要求定向到知觉词特征时却没有观察到。这些结果支持无意识的自动过程受自上而下因素的调节的观点。它们暗示了一种门控机制，该机制协调有意识和无意识的信息处理流。
In classical theories of automaticity, automatic processes are usually thought to occur autonomously and independently of higher level top-down factors (e.g., ). However, already Neumann pointed out that the cognitive system has to be configured in a certain way for automatic processes to occur. In extension of his work, I propose a gating framework to account for the influence of top-down factors such as attention, intention and task set on automatic processes such as masked response or semantic priming. It is assumed that task representations held in prefrontal cortex regulate the gain of neurons in visual and sematic association cortex thereby modulating the effects of unconsciously perceived masked stimuli on further ‘automatic’ information processing steps. In support of the postulated gating framework, recent studies demonstrated a top-down modulation of automatic processes. Behavioral and electrophysiological studies with the masked response priming and semantic priming paradigms show that masked priming effects crucially depend (i) on temporal attention to the masked prime, (ii) on intentions or action plans and (iii) on the task set active immediately before masked prime presentation. For instance, masked semantic priming was only observed when the preceding task set required the orientation to semantic word features, but not when it required orientation to perceptual word features. These results support the view that unconscious automatic processes are modulated by top-down factors. They are suggestive of a gating mechanism which orchestrates the conscious and unconscious information processing streams.