Temporal dynamics of visual awareness and target detection revealed by EEG‐based univariate and multivariate analyses

Successful visual processing involves both target detection and visual awareness, but their temporal dynamics remain incompletely understood. Here, we recorded EEG from 17 participants performing a near‐threshold visual task in which targets were defined by a luminance difference between central and peripheral discs. We compared correctly reported target and nontarget trials to examine EEG activity associated with target detection, and seen and unseen target trials to probe activity associated with reported visual awareness. Both comparisons were conducted separately under low‐ and high‐contrast conditions. Conventional ERP analyses revealed an N2 amplitude difference between target and nontarget trials and a P3 amplitude difference between seen and unseen target trials. Time‐resolved multivariate pattern analysis yielded reliable decoding for both trial comparisons. Temporal‐generalization matrices showed different temporal profiles, with awareness‐related patterns persisting longer than those associated with target detection. The level of luminance contrast also modulated the duration of target‐versus‐nontarget decoding. Moreover, N2‐ and P3‐window classifiers did not reliably generalize across windows, indicating temporally different patterns. Overall, the combined analyses offer new insights into the temporal dynamics of neural activity associated with target detection and visual awareness.