For decades, target–distractor similarity has been known to induce distinct visual search modes. A highly salient target can pop out, suggesting parallel processing of all items irrespective of set si...

By Nick Gaspelin and Yue Zhang Zhang, Y. & Gaspelin, N. (2026a). From capture to control: Initial capture increases learned suppression. Psychological Science. 37(4), 2…

Interpretability research on Claude's internal thoughts.

Sensory horizons and the functions of conscious vision - Volume 49

Neuroscience of Consciousness (NCON) is a peer-reviewed, fully open access journal that provides a unique forum for the interdisciplinary fields of consciousnes

Scientific Reports - Cortical representation of motion sequence processing in younger and older adults: an fMRI study

Cambridge Core - Neurosciences - Scientific Theories of Consciousness

Perception unfolds within richly structured spatiotemporal environments but is often studied in simplified contexts. In this Perspective, Pascucci and Kristjánsson describe how spatial and temporal co...

To prioritize the visual processing of task-relevant objects in our surroundings, we rely on an attentional template—an internal representation of object features that guides attention toward potential targets. Decades of research have characterized attentional templates for simple targets in artificial arrays. How could templates function in real-world search, where target appearance is variable and objects are embedded in complex, dynamic scenes? We consider two possibilities: (i) flexible templates that are adapted to changing scene contexts and (ii) stable (‘one-size-fits-all’) templates that generalize across contexts. We review recent behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for both possibilities and discuss how optimal search depends on balancing the relative costs and benefits of template adaptation, enabling efficient attention ‘in the wild’.

Nature Reviews Psychology - It is often asserted that human cognition is Bayesian, but that broad claim is difficult to test in a falsifiable way. We suggest that researchers specifically assess a...

In a recent article on methods for assessing artificial intelligence (AI) systems for consciousness, we argued that computational properties of internal processing should be used as indicators [1]. Commenting on our proposal, Pennartz argues that this method ‘should be supplemented with behavioural-cognitive methods’ (p. 1) because there is no consensus theory of consciousness [2]. We agree that the lack of a consensus theory of consciousness makes it more important to use every available source of evidence, but in our article, we preferred internal over behavioural assessments on the grounds that the latter can be ‘gamed’ by AI systems.

Kumaran et al. show that large language model (LLM) confidence is shaped by two competing biases: a choice-supportive bias that inflates confidence in initial answers, and a systematic overweighting o...

Recent research has revealed similarities between visual mental imagery and visual perception. Visual imagery is supported by cortical feedback involving multiple visual areas, including the primary v...

YouTube video by MIT Consciousness Club

Categorization, the grouping of objects, living organisms, actions or events into equivalence clusters, is fundamental to adaptive behaviour. In this Perspective, Barrett and Miller discuss evidence t...

Published in Philosophical Psychology (Vol. 39, No. 3, 2026)

Andreassen et al. demonstrate that confidence exhibited in public affects our private assessment of confidence.

Scientific studies of consciousness derive their legitimacy from individuals’ intuitions about the degree to which measured functions can be associated with ...