Neural Evidence for Non-conscious Working Memory

Recent studies have found that non-consciously perceived information can be retained for several seconds, a feat that has been attributed to non-conscious working memory processes. However, these studies have mainly relied on subjective measures of visual experience, and the neural processes responsible for non-conscious short-term retention remains unclear. Here we used continuous flash suppression to render stimuli non-conscious in a delayed match-to-sample task together with fMRI to investigate the neural correlates of non-conscious short-term (5-15 s) retention. The participants' behavioral performance was at chance level when they reported no visual experience of the sample stimulus. Critically, multivariate pattern analyses of BOLD signal during the delay phase could classify presence versus absence of sample stimuli based on signal patterns in frontal cortex, and its spatial position based on signal patterns in occipital cortex. In addition, univariate analyses revealed increased BOLD signal change in prefrontal regions during memory recognition. Thus, our findings demonstrate short-term maintenance of information presented non-consciously, defined by chance performance behaviorally. This non-consciously retained information seems to rely on persistent neural activity in frontal and occipital cortex, and may engage further cognitive control processes during memory recognition.