Psychophysiological study of the memory and consciousness

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This study is concerned with reviewing the physiological mechanisms of "perception without consciousness" and "memory without consciousness".1. Patients with lesion in the striate cortex show some perceptual ability even when they cannot consciously recognize the stimulus. This ability is considered to be supported by second visual system including the superior colloculus. 2. Subliminal perception is the phenomenon where subliminal stimulus (which cannot consciously be recognized) can have certain effects on the organisms. Subliminal stimulus (because it is weak) cannot activate reticular activating system enough to make the stimulus be recognized. Primary component of the evoked potential can be obtained to the presentation of the subliminal stimulus while secondary component can be obtained only when the stimulus becomes strong enough to be recognized. 3. Patients with split brains are shown to have two kinds of consciousness (right and left). Since right brain has no language ability, its activity cannot consciously be recognized. Left brain has nothing to do but speculate concerning the cause of the action triggered by the right brain. 4. Enormous amount of researches have been done to investigate 'multiple personalities' and 'hypnosis'. However, physiological mechanisms of these phenomena are not known. 5. Amnesic patients with hipocampal injury cannot memorize newly learned events permanently. However, they can establish motor and sensory learning and classical conditioning without the conscious memory that they have experienced such learning. Thus, it is concluded that there are at least two memory systems in the brain. 6. It is reported that prime stimulus can have a priming effect even if it is not consciously recognized by the normal subjects. T rmal subjects, "memory without consciousness" can gave an influence on their behavior.