Promise and challenges for discovering transcranial magnetic stimulation induced “numbsense”—Commentary on Ro & Koenig (2021)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20409817 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mikko Hurme (0000-0001-9064-4413, University of Turku, corresponding author), Henry Railo (0000-0002-0779-5008, University of Turku) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 98 |
| Pages | 103265 |
| Publication date | 2022-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Consciousness and Cognition (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1053-8100 • E-ISSN: 1090-2376 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103265 |
| PMID | 34971969 |
| OpenAlex | W4200564442 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 32 |
The notion that behavioral responses to stimuli can be mediated by separate unconscious and conscious sensory pathways remains popular, but also hotly debated. Recently, Ro and Koenig (2021) reported that when activity in somatosensory cortex was interfered with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), participants could discriminate tactile stimuli they reported not consciously feeling. The study launches an interesting new area of research, helping to uncover mechanisms of unconscious perception that possibly generalize across different sensory modalities. However, we argue here that the study by Ro and Koenig also has several significant shortcomings, and it fails to provide evidence that pathways bypassing primary somatosensory cortex enable unconscious tactile discrimination. By referring to numerous studies investigating TMS-induced blindsight, we outline challenges in demonstrating unconscious sensory pathways using TMS. By facing to these challenges, research investigating TMS-induced numbsense has potential to stimulate progress in stubborn debates and reveal modality-general mechanisms of unconscious perception
Blindsight · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Consciousness · Feeling · Modalities · Perception · Psychoanalysis · Sensory system · Somatosensory system · Stimulation · Stimulus modality · Transcranial magnetic stimulation · Unconscious mind · Visual perception · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neural dynamics and brain function · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology · Visual perception and processing mechanisms
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |