Category Ranking
98%
Total Visits
921
Avg Visit Duration
2 minutes
Citations
20
Article Abstract
Most researchers leverage bottom-up suppression to unlock the underlying mechanisms of unconscious processing. However, a top-down approach - for example via hypnotic suggestion - paves the road to experimental innovation and complementary data that afford new scientific insights concerning attention and the unconscious. Drawing from a reliable taxonomy that differentiates subliminal and preconscious processing, we outline how an experimental trajectory that champions top-down suppression techniques, such as those practiced in hypnosis, is uniquely poised to further contextualize and refine our scientific understanding of unconscious processing. Examining subliminal and preconscious methods, we demonstrate how instrumental hypnosis provides a reliable adjunct that supplements contemporary approaches. Specifically, we provide an integrative synthesis of the advantages and shortcomings that accompany a top-down approach to probe the unconscious mind. Our account provides a larger framework for complementing the results from core studies involving prevailing subliminal and preconscious techniques.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4112913 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00785 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
How perceptual learning rewires brain connectivity: lessons from the visual system in a top-down perspective.
Front Neural Circuits
September 2025
Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy.
Neural circuits sculpt their structure and modify the strength of their connections to effectively adapt to the external stimuli throughout life. In response to practice and experience, the brain learns to distinguish previously undetectable stimulus features recurring in the external environment. The unconscious acquisition of improved perceptual abilities falls into a form of implicit learning known as perceptual learning.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFModerate manipulation to somatosensory feedback does not affect Libet-style intentional action.
Psychol Res
September 2025
Berlin School of Mind and Brain & Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
The existence of free will has been called into question by Benjamin Libet's seminal experiment, who argued that our conscious decision is preceded by an unconscious decision reflected in the readiness potential (RP). Alternatively, it has been argue that the RP rather reflects a decision process in which different signals accumulate until they reach the intention threshold, at which point an agent experience their intention simultaneously. This raises the question what type of signal is accumulated given that no external information is provided.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent and Developing Approaches for Facilitating Emergence from General Anesthesia.
Anesthesiology
October 2025
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Despite the widespread use of clinical anesthesia, the process of emergence from general anesthesia remains primarily driven by anesthetic elimination. Although emergence from general anesthesia is typically safe, prolonged delays strain resource-intensive settings and contribute to increased healthcare costs. In addition to improving access to care, providing clinicians with more precise control over emergence could offer diagnostic potential and improve patient outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCross-category attentional biases driven by visual mental imagery of social cues.
Am Psychol
September 2025
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In cluttered and complex natural scenes, selective attention enables the visual system to prioritize relevant information. This process is guided not only by perceptual cues but also by imagined ones. The current research extends the imagery-induced attentional bias to the unconscious level and reveals its cross-category applicability between different social cues (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMorphology of the lateral aspects of the human cortex: an informational explanation.
Front Psychol
August 2025
Universidad Privada Norbert Wiener, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Lima, Peru.
This article presents a novel perspective on the structure and function of the human cortex, grounded in the Sociobiological Informational Theory (SIT). SIT offers a conceptual framework that integrates biological, psychological, and social dimensions of brain activity, challenging traditional anatomical and physiological models. Under this perspective, the neocortex is interpreted as the system of consciousness, while the paleocortex is associated with unconscious processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF