The neuronal mechanisms explaining perceptual consciousness remain largely unknown. Recent studies have shown how stimulus detection involves evidence accumulation processes similar to those involved in perceptual decision-making. We will discuss how perceptual consciousness and perceptual monitoring are tied to latent evidence accumulation processes. In this framework, percepts fade in and out of consciousness according to the dynamics of the corresponding accumulated evidence, and confidence corresponds to the maximal accumulated evidence. We will present some implications of our proposal, assess how it fits within current theories, and illustrate how it may help to reach a mechanistic understanding of perceptual consciousness.
