Can working memory be non-conscious?

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 2016
Journal Neuroscience of Consciousness
Article number niv011
Volume | Issue number 2016 | 1
Number of pages 3
Organisations
  • Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG) - Psychology Research Institute (PsyRes)
Abstract Working memory (WM) is closely linked to conscious awareness: In most conceptions of WM, the inputs to WM need to be conscious. The findings of some recent studies, however, have been taken to suggest that WM can indeed operate on non-conscious inputs. Here, we argue that these findings can easily be accommodated by conventional conceptions of non-conscious perception and conscious WM. We conclude that these studies do not provide conclusive evidence for non-conscious WM. It is thus too early to dismiss the traditional view of a tight link between WM and conscious awareness.
Document type Comment/Letter to the editor
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1093/nc/niv011
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