Abstract

Milner and Goodale's influential theory of visual processing suggests that only the ventral stream is directly associated with explicit conscious experience. However the implicit/explicit distinction does not map clearly onto the two visual streams. Whilst there is good evidence for the non-conscious nature of dorsal stream processing, evidence suggests that substantial processing in the ventral stream also occurs in the absence of conscious awareness. An alternative view is considered in which it is assumed that conscious awareness is not a property of specific processing systems but where there exists a single conscious awareness system capable of interacting with the various processing streams.