Single-neuron activity reflects visual awareness in human lateral occipital complex

Conscious perception, a critical aspect of human cognition, is assumed to emerge from a complex network of interacting brain regions that transmit information via feedforward and recurrent pathways. This study presents the first single- and multiunit recordings from the human lateral occipital complex (LO), a key region for shape and object recognition, during three distinct perceptual paradigms: backward masking, flash suppression and binocular rivalry. In all three paradigms, conscious perception was required for reliable stimulus decoding from neuronal population responses. These findings highlight the intricate neural mechanisms underlying visual awareness and show that LO responses predominantly align with conscious perception, offering new insights into the neural correlates of consciousness.