Unconscious temporal attention induced by invisible temporal association cues

Abstract

Temporal attention is the ability to prioritize information based on timing. While conscious perception of temporally structured information is known to generate temporal attention, whether it occurs unconsciously remains uncertain. This study used a temporal cueing paradigm with masking techniques to explore the differences between conscious and unconscious temporal attention mechanisms. Experiment 1 found that both visible and invisible cues triggered temporal attention, with stronger effects for visible cues. Experiment 2, using electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, showed that both visible and invisible cues evoked contingent negative variation (CNV) component, albeit smaller with invisible cues. The P300 component further supported this pattern. Hierarchical drift–diffusion modeling (HDDM) analysis demonstrated that both conscious and unconscious temporal attention effects involve non-perceptual decision-making processes. These findings both align and challenge the Global Workspace Theory, suggesting that while consciousness enhances conscious attention via global broadcasting, unconscious attention may rely on more localized neural networks.