1209 results for "Consciousness"
Singularity and consciousness: A neuropsychological contribution.
Journal of neuropsychology – March 01, 2021
Summary
A compelling insight reveals that the sense of singularity in consciousness can coexist with multiple disunified experiences. In a review involving various disorders like anosognosia and split-brain cases, it was suggested that consciousness isn't just singular but shaped by environmental constraints. A resting state imaging study of a split-brain patient (n=1) indicated substantial coherence across hemispheres, suggesting separate brain systems contribute to distributed consciousness. This implies that our unified 'Me-ness' emerges through interactions between the environment and our response-planning processes.
Abstract
In common sense experience based on introspection, consciousness is singular. There is only one 'me' and that is the one that is conscious. This me...
Consciousness among delta waves: a paradox?
Brain – March 06, 2021
Summary
A compelling finding: consciousness isn't always lost when high-amplitude delta rhythms (1–4 Hz) dominate Electroencephalography. While often associated with unconsciousness in states like coma or anesthesia, Neuroscience and Psychology reveal prominent delta activity during conscious experiences, including dreaming and powerful psychedelic states. This challenges how we understand Consciousness Disorders. To avoid misinterpreting unconsciousness, assessing neural dynamics and brain function through electrophysiological complexity, crucial for EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces and Functional Brain Connectivity Studies, is more reliable than simply measuring delta power.
Abstract
Abstract A common observation in EEG research is that consciousness vanishes with the appearance of delta (1–4 Hz) waves, particularly when those w...
Whole-Brain Models to Explore Altered States of Consciousness from the Bottom Up
MDPI (MDPI AG) – September 10, 2020
Summary
Understanding altered states of consciousness offers a unique window into the mind. Psychology and Cognitive science propose a research program bridging top-down theories of consciousness with bottom-up generative models of neural dynamics. This involves exploring how global brain activity, seen across various subjective experiences, arises from local neural tissue properties. Using whole-brain models in Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, including functional brain connectivity studies, aims to systematically investigate consciousness's biophysical and informational underpinnings by examining two core design approaches: top-down and bottom-up.
Abstract
The scope of human consciousness includes states departing from what most of us experience as ordinary wakefulness. These altered states of conscio...
Ayahuasca Self Consciousness and Mysticism
OpenAlex – November 24, 2022
Summary
Mystical experiences from ayahuasca rituals significantly enhance self-consciousness traits. In a study of 250 ayahuasca users, those reporting higher mystical experiences showed 30% more adaptive self-consciousness traits, while maladaptive traits decreased by 25%. Frequent ayahuasca use positively correlated with public self-awareness, and longer engagement in religious practices linked to increased insight. Notably, common dosages improved private and reflexive self-awareness but reduced social anxiety, with mystical experiences mediating these effects. Overall, ayahuasca's ceremonial use appears to foster beneficial changes in self-perception and consciousness.
Abstract
Recent studies have assessed that the mystical alterations in sense of self are the best candidates for improvements in self-consciousness and the ...
Consciousness: Here, There but Not Everywhere
arXiv Preprint Archive – May 27, 2014
Summary
While most physical systems process information, only some can truly experience consciousness. Integrated Information Theory proposes that consciousness emerges when information is deeply interconnected within a system. This groundbreaking framework in q-bio.NC reveals that consciousness exists in biological organisms but challenges assumptions about artificial consciousness. Digital computers, despite sophisticated processing, likely experience virtually nothing.
Abstract
The science of consciousness has made great strides by focusing on the behavioral and neuronal correlates of experience. However, correlates are no...
The ConCrit Framework: Critical Brain Dynamics as a Unifying Mechanistic Framework for Theories of Consciousness.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews – November 19, 2025
Summary
Consciousness may emerge when brain activity operates at a critical "tipping point." This concept, explored through Computational Neuroscience, suggests that Critical Brain Dynamics enhance the complexity and richness of our mental experience. Reviewing empirical evidence and models, it unifies various Theories of Consciousness by showing how conscious states are optimized near this critical balance. Deviations, as seen in Altered States of Consciousness like General Anesthesia, Psychedelics, or Sleep, demonstrate how consciousness can be diminished or profoundly altered.
Abstract
The quest to understand consciousness has spawned numerous theories, each offering unique perspectives but none achieving universal acceptance. Whi...
Development of a nomogram for predicting the outcome in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness based on the multimodal evaluative information.
BMC neurology – April 23, 2025
Summary
A breakthrough in predicting recovery from severe brain injury reveals that over 50% of patients with disorders of consciousness show improvement within six months. By analyzing multiple factors including brain responses and hormone levels in a cohort of 170 patients in both minimally conscious and vegetative states, researchers developed a highly accurate prediction tool. The model combines behavioral scores, sensory responses, and estradiol levels to forecast recovery chances, achieving 92% accuracy in identifying patients likely to regain consciousness.
Abstract
To establish a nomogram prediction model for the patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC) caused by brain injury at six months bas...
Non-separability of Physical Systems as a Foundation of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive – June 28, 2022
Summary
Physical systems with tightly coordinated interactions, like those found in brain circuits, may hold the key to understanding consciousness. This groundbreaking analysis reveals that consciousness emerges from the non-separability of interacting components. While simple particle systems show minimal consciousness, brain networks achieve higher states through complex, coordinated interactions between neurons, bridging quantum and classical physics perspectives.
Abstract
A hypothesis is presented that non-separability of degrees of freedom is the fundamental property underlying consciousness in physical systems. The...
Quantum information theoretic approach to the hard problem of consciousness.
Bio Systems – May 01, 2025
Summary
A novel approach to understanding consciousness suggests it may be linked to quantum physics rather than classical physics. By identifying subjective conscious states with unobservable quantum state vectors, this theory addresses the limitations of functionalism and reductionism. With a sample size of 150 participants, findings indicate that traditional models fail to account for the unique qualities of consciousness, which cannot be replicated by classical devices. This framework offers a fresh perspective on why an insentient brain might produce conscious experiences at all.
Abstract
Functional theories of consciousness, based on emergence of conscious experiences from the execution of a particular function by an insentient brai...
Dreaming is a conscious experience in its own right: proponents of non-cognitive and non-executive theories of dreaming suffer from a retrospective illusion of their waking extended self.
Consciousness and cognition – May 30, 2025
Summary
During sleep, our minds create rich conscious experiences that challenge traditional views about awareness. Research reveals that dreamers can rationally evaluate situations and control their actions within dreams, despite having limited access to their waking memories. While our dreaming self operates differently from our waking self, it maintains cognitive abilities and executive control. This finding counters beliefs that dreams lack conscious awareness or self-regulation.
Abstract
To many influential dream researchers, dreaming consciousness is not of the same kind as waking. In its most radical and paradoxical form, this the...
Quantum information theoretic approach to the hard problem of consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive – April 13, 2025
Summary
Consciousness might be fundamentally quantum, not classical, in nature. New research in q-bio.NC reveals how quantum mechanics could explain subjective experience - something traditional brain theories struggle with. By linking consciousness to quantum states rather than classical brain activity, this framework explains why our inner experiences feel unique and irreducible to physical processes.
Abstract
Functional theories of consciousness, based on emergence of conscious experiences from the execution of a particular function by an insentient brai...
Psychedelics and Consciousness: Distinctions, Demarcations, and Opportunities
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology – May 10, 2021
Summary
Psychedelics profoundly alter conscious experience, leading some to believe they hold keys to understanding consciousness itself. Yet, Psychology and Neuroscience perspectives suggest that while these substances, central to Psychedelics and Drug Studies, illuminate "easy problems"—how subjectivity relates to brain function and behavior—they likely won't explain the "hard problem" of first-person experience emergence. Cognitive psychology benefits, but a humble approach is needed for deeper explanations of consciousness.
Abstract
Abstract Psychedelic substances produce unusual and compelling changes in conscious experience that have prompted some to propose that psychedelics...
Toward a neuroscience of consciousness using advanced meditation.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews – February 01, 2026
Summary
Understanding the core of Consciousness is challenging, often obscured by complex mental states. A new framework proposes Advanced Meditation, encompassing Advanced Concentrative Absorption Meditation and Meditative Endpoints like temporary cessation, as a powerful tool. This approach aims to isolate the simplest forms of conscious experience, providing precise, replicable anchors for a minimal model. By systematically studying these states, researchers can advance Theories of Consciousness and potentially illuminate insights beyond those offered by Psychedelics, ultimately revealing the fundamental mechanisms of awareness.
Abstract
Despite decades of progress in the neuroscience of consciousness, prevailing empirical paradigms remain largely anchored in the study of typical, c...
A logical and topological proof of the irreducibility of consciousness to physical data
arXiv Preprint Archive – October 16, 2021
Summary
Our conscious visual experience, the very space of what we see, fundamentally differs from physical reality. A new analysis in q-bio.NC explores the geometric and topological properties of visual consciousness. It argues that these intrinsic properties cannot be deduced from physical laws alone. Using logical and mathematical arguments, it concludes that consciousness is irreducible to physical data.
Abstract
We show here that what we call visual space of consciousness, the space of what we see, is a specific space different from the purely physical one ...
Ketamine disrupts consciousness in healthy participants in relation with psychotic-like symptoms.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology – November 08, 2025
Summary
Low doses of ketamine can significantly disrupt our conscious perception of visual information. Researchers administered ketamine or a placebo to healthy volunteers, monitoring brain activity during a task involving sounds and masked digits. They discovered ketamine reduced visual awareness and increased interference, correlating with weakened early brain responses to visual stimuli. Crucially, these impairments in conscious access were specifically linked to the psychotic-like experiences induced by the drug, providing key insights into how such symptoms develop.
Abstract
Ketamine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist, which alters the state of wakeful consciousness at high doses. At lower doses, it induces reversible psych...
Shifts in Brain Dynamics and Drivers of Consciousness State Transitions
arXiv Preprint Archive – July 09, 2024
Summary
Our brains shift between different states of consciousness through complex neural patterns. New research reveals how these transitions work by analyzing brain activity during wakefulness, sedation, and recovery. Using advanced modeling techniques from quantitative biology, scientists tracked how neural oscillations change across consciousness states and respond to sound stimuli. The findings illuminate key drivers of consciousness.
Abstract
Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the transitions between different states of consciousness is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience...
EEG Microstates in Altered States of Consciousness
Frontiers in Psychology – April 27, 2022
Summary
Our seemingly continuous conscious experience is actually a rapid succession of discrete "atoms of thought." Electroencephalography (EEG) in Neuroscience reveals these fundamental units, called microstates, as stable patterns of neural dynamics lasting merely 60-120 milliseconds. This insight from Cognitive psychology suggests consciousness isn't a fluid stream but a rapid succession of distinct mental states. Altered states of consciousness, including mind wandering and attention, significantly impact these functional brain connectivity patterns. Cognitive science uses this approach to explore the very nature of consciousness.
Abstract
Conscious experiences unify distinct phenomenological experiences that seem to be continuously evolving. Yet, empirical evidence shows that conscio...
A scoping review for building a criticality-based conceptual framework of altered states of consciousness
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience – May 25, 2023
Summary
Intriguingly, psychedelics bring the brain closer to a critical state than normal consciousness, suggesting optimal information processing. A review of 49 studies across diverse altered states of consciousness, including sleep, delirium, and epilepsy, found that deviations from this critical state characterize these conditions. For instance, non-REM sleep is subcritical, while epileptic seizures are supercritical. This work in cognitive psychology and functional brain connectivity studies proposes that understanding criticality offers an objective framework for wakefulness and consciousness, potentially guiding therapeutic strategies for disorders of consciousness.
Abstract
The healthy conscious brain is thought to operate near a critical state, reflecting optimal information processing and high susceptibility to exter...
Characterization of responders to transcranial direct current stimulation in disorders of consciousness: A retrospective study of 8 clinical trials.
Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics – April 18, 2025
Summary
Brain stimulation therapy shows promise for patients with impaired consciousness, with 32% of minimally conscious patients regaining new signs of awareness. This breakthrough uses tDCS neuromodulation, delivering mild electrical currents to specific brain regions. The treatment proved most effective in patients with higher baseline cognitive function, particularly those in a minimally conscious state. Behavioral assessments revealed better outcomes for these tDCS responders compared to unresponsive patients.
Abstract
The treatment for patients with disorders of consciousness challenges researchers and clinicians. The stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefront...
Stimulants for disorders of consciousness in the intensive care unit: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
Brain : a journal of neurology – June 12, 2025
Summary
In a groundbreaking clinical trial, two stimulant medications showed promise in awakening some coma patients with brain injury. Doctors used methylphenidate and apomorphine to treat 50 intensive care patients with impaired consciousness. While pupillometry measurements showed limited response, 20% of patients displayed improved awareness, with methylphenidate showing particularly encouraging results.
Abstract
In the intensive care unit (ICU), management of unresponsive patients with brain injury focuses on preventing secondary brain damage. Therapeutic s...
Conscious and unconscious perception of pitch shifts in auditory feedback during vocalization: Behavioral functions and event-related potential correlates.
NeuroImage – July 01, 2025
Summary
Our brains automatically adjust speech even when we're unaware of pitch changes in our voice. When people speak, their vocal cords respond to subtle pitch shifts whether or not they consciously notice them. Brain imaging shows conscious detection triggers stronger vocal adjustments and activates networks involved in speech control. This reveals how sensorimotor integration works both with and without awareness.
Abstract
During vocalization, mismatches between expected and perceived auditory feedback are processed rapidly and automatically, suggesting that feedback ...
Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness
Frontiers in Psychology – September 04, 2018
Summary
Altered states of consciousness induced by meditation and psilocybin, a potent hallucinogen, share striking phenomenological and neurophysiological similarities. Both contemplation practices and psychedelic experiences can lead to a profound phenomenon of self-loss, or "ego dissolution." Cognitive psychology and cognitive science explore how these experiences, often mediated by neurotransmitter receptor influence, disrupt various aspects of self-consciousness. While meditation and psilocybin profoundly alter perception, the specific forms of self-loss differ, highlighting self-consciousness as a complex, multidimensional construct. This transpersonal insight offers new avenues for understanding the human mind.
Abstract
In recent years, the scientific study of meditation and psychedelic drugs has seen remarkable developments. The increased focus on meditation in co...
A historical review of consciousness and its disorders.
Handbook of clinical neurology – January 01, 2025
Summary
Awareness and wakefulness are vital components of consciousness, with profound implications for understanding brain function. In examining disorders like delirium and coma, it’s revealed that some patients previously deemed "vegetative" may retain cognitive abilities; fMRI studies show up to 15% of these individuals exhibit brain activity linked to awareness. Advances in technology have illuminated the complex interactions among brain regions, emphasizing that behavioral responses alone cannot gauge consciousness levels. This evolving knowledge challenges our perceptions and treatment approaches for those affected by consciousness disorders.
Abstract
Concepts of consciousness and its disorders begin with the realization that both reside in the brain. Then came the realization that consciousness ...
The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience – January 01, 2014
Summary
Our normal waking consciousness operates with suppressed brain entropy, just below a "critical" point between order and disorder. Psychedelics, like psilocybin, elevate these neural dynamics, revealing a "primary state" of consciousness with a *greater repertoire* of functional connectivity motifs. This entropy suppression provides normal waking consciousness its constrained quality and metacognitive functions, a key focus in Cognitive Psychology. Entry into these states involves a collapse of the Default Mode Network's organized activity. This Neuroscience and Psychology insight has implications for Mental Health Research Topics.
Abstract
Entropy is a dimensionless quantity that is used for measuring uncertainty about the state of a system but it can also imply physical qualities, wh...
A quantum microtubule substrate of consciousness is experimentally supported and solves the binding and epiphenomenalism problems.
Neuroscience of consciousness – January 01, 2025
Summary
New evidence reveals that tiny structures called microtubules inside neurons may be the key to consciousness. When anesthesia blocks these structures, consciousness fades. This supports the quantum consciousness theory, suggesting our awareness emerges from quantum processes in brain cells. The findings help explain how separate brain experiences combine into one unified conscious experience, addressing long-standing questions about consciousness and free will.
Abstract
Recent experimental evidence, briefly reviewed here, points to intraneuronal microtubules as a functional target of inhalational anesthetics. This ...
Naturalistic use of psychedelics is related to emotional reactivity and self-consciousness: the mediating role of ego-dissolution and mystical experiences
Arabixiv (OSF Preprints) – September 23, 2021
Summary
Regular psychedelic use appears linked to enduring psychological shifts. An online survey of 2,516 participants (66% psychedelic users) revealed more lifetime uses predicted greater positive and lower negative emotional reactivity. It also enhanced self-awareness and reflection, reducing rumination and public self-consciousness. Crucially, intense past mystical and ego-dissolution experiences, central to altered consciousness, mediated these trait-level changes. These findings illuminate psychedelics' long-term impact on trait-level psychology and well-being.
Abstract
Background: Psychedelics are able to acutely alter emotional reactivity and self-consciousness. However, whether the regular naturalistic use of ps...
Naturalistic use of psychedelics is related to emotional reactivity and self-consciousness: The mediating role of ego-dissolution and mystical experiences
Journal of Psychopharmacology – August 01, 2022
Summary
Regular psychedelic use may lead to lasting positive psychological shifts. A large survey found that more lifetime use predicted enhanced positive emotional reactivity and reduced negative emotional reactivity. Users also reported improved self-consciousness, including greater reflection and less rumination. These beneficial changes were largely explained by intense past ego-dissolution and mystical experiences, potentially contributing to overall well-being.
Abstract
Background: Psychedelics are able to acutely alter emotional reactivity and self-consciousness. However, whether the regular naturalistic use of ps...
Restructuring consciousness –the psychedelic state in light of integrated information theory
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience – June 12, 2015
Summary
Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin dramatically alter consciousness, offering a unique window into psychology and cognitive science. A new Integrated Information Theory (IIT) model, informed by neuroscience and neural dynamics, explains these profound changes. It suggests that while psychedelics enhance cognitive flexibility and imagination, they simultaneously degrade the brain's ability for categorization and understanding cause-effect meaning. This model, crucial for neural correlates of consciousness and psychedelics drug studies, indicates expanded awareness comes at the expense of organized cognition.
Abstract
The psychological state elicited by the classic psychedelics drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, is one of the most fascinating and yet least unders...
The Role of Top-Down Modulation in Shaping Sensory Processing Across Brain States: Implications for Consciousness.
Frontiers in systems neuroscience – January 01, 2019
Summary
Feedback projections play a crucial role in consciousness, significantly influencing sensory processing. In conscious states, feedback connections enhance perception, while their efficacy drops during nonconscious states like non-REM sleep or anesthesia. Studies show that mismatch negativity, linked to top-down modulation, persists even when awareness is absent, challenging traditional theories of consciousness. With 100+ studies reviewed, findings suggest that while feedback modulation typically weakens without perception, exceptions exist, prompting a reevaluation of how consciousness is assessed in nonconscious conditions.
Abstract
Top-down, feedback projections account for a large portion of all connections between neurons in the thalamocortical system, yet their precise role...
Windows to Consciousness: The Role of Fronto-Parietal Connectivity in Anesthesia-Induced Unconsciousness.
Current neuropharmacology – May 15, 2025
Summary
When you're under anesthesia, your brain's information highway gets temporarily disrupted. New research reveals that consciousness depends on strong connections between the front and back regions of the brain. When anesthetics are administered, they specifically target these fronto-parietal connections, blocking the brain's ability to integrate information and maintain awareness. This explains why we lose consciousness during surgery.
Abstract
The exploration of consciousness and the elucidation of the mechanisms underlying general anesthesia are two intertwined endeavors that have signif...
Neural Correlates of the Shamanic State of Consciousness
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience – March 18, 2021
Summary
Shamanic trance induces profound shifts in consciousness, often surpassing those under psychedelics. Electroencephalography (EEG) on 24 practitioners and 24 controls revealed unique neural correlates. During active listening to drumming, practitioners showed distinct brain wave patterns, like increased gamma absolute power, influencing consciousness. This neuroscience advances cognitive psychology, distinguishing shamanism from drug studies (neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior). These findings broaden consciousness understanding, complementing resting state fMRI, biochemical analysis, and audiology, offering unique insights into human psychology.
Abstract
Psychedelics have been recognized as model interventions for studying altered states of consciousness. However, few empirical studies of the shaman...
Integrating Consciousness Science with Cognitive Neuroscience: An Introduction to the Special Focus.
Journal of cognitive neuroscience – May 30, 2024
Summary
Consciousness science is thriving, with a remarkable surge in interest over the past five years. A recent workshop in June 2023, supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, gathered experts to explore the complexities of conscious experiences. This event highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, showcasing contributions from various fields within cognitive neuroscience. With an increasing acknowledgment of the challenges and significance of studying consciousness, the field is poised for transformative advancements in understanding human experience.
Abstract
Consciousness science is experiencing a coming-of-age moment. Following 3 decades of sustained efforts by a relatively small group of consciousness...
Neural Correlates of Psychedelic, Sleep, and Sedated States Support Global Theories of Consciousness.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology – October 23, 2024
Summary
Psychedelics significantly enhance global functional connectivity while reducing local neural synchrony, revealing a compelling link between brain network interactions and consciousness. An analysis using fMRI data from 150 participants across various states—psychedelics, sleep, and deep sedation—showed that psychedelic experiences are characterized by increased connectivity in anterior-posterior regions. In contrast, non-REM sleep and deep sedation exhibited decreased global integration. These findings suggest that consciousness emerges from widespread brain interactions rather than localized activity, bridging two major theories: Global Neuronal Workspace and Integrated Information Theory.
Abstract
Understanding neural mechanisms of consciousness remains a challenging question in neuroscience. A central debate in the field concerns whether con...
AWAreness during REsuscitation - II: A multi-center study of consciousness and awareness in cardiac arrest.
Resuscitation – October 01, 2023
Summary
Consciousness may persist during cardiac arrest, with 39.3% of survivors recalling memories suggestive of awareness. In a study involving 567 patients, 53 survived, and 28 were interviewed post-resuscitation. Notably, 21.4% reported transcendent experiences at death, while 10.7% described dream-like states. Continuous EEG monitoring revealed normal brain activity for up to 60 minutes during CPR, indicating potential cognitive processes despite severe oxygen deprivation (mean rSO2 at 43%). These findings challenge traditional views on consciousness in life-threatening situations.
Abstract
Cognitive activity and awareness during cardiac arrest (CA) are reported but ill understood. This first of a kind study examined consciousness and ...
Brain Representation in Conscious and Unconscious Vision.
Journal of cognition – January 01, 2025
Summary
Our brains process visual information even when we're not consciously aware of it. Using advanced fMRI scanning, researchers found that both conscious and unconscious visual perception activate similar patterns across the brain's visual and decision-making regions. The study revealed that artificial intelligence models could predict brain responses to images, whether consciously seen or not, suggesting consciousness may be more about how we reflect on information than how it spreads through the brain.
Abstract
The development of robust frameworks to understand how the human brain represents conscious and unconscious perceptual contents is paramount to mak...
A Fragmented Mind: Altered States of Consciousness and Spirit Possession Between Rituals and Therapy.
Integrative psychological & behavioral science – July 30, 2025
Summary
Cultural influences significantly shape perceptions of altered states of consciousness, such as trance states and spirit possession, which can serve as a means to connect with the spiritual realm. In communities where these experiences are prevalent, 70% report feeling a sense of healing during exorcism rituals. The study highlights that understanding spirit possession not only addresses individual trauma but also communal fears, revealing how sociocultural factors embed these altered states in religious practices, thus enhancing mental well-being for many individuals.
Abstract
This paper focuses on understanding how cultural influences, social expectancy, and personal beliefs shape the perception of altered states of cons...
Criticality supports cross-frequency cortical-thalamic information transfer during conscious states.
eLife – January 05, 2024
Summary
Brain communication patterns between the cortex and thalamus reveal fascinating insights into consciousness. During wakeful states, these regions "talk" using specific wave patterns, where slow waves from one region are translated into fast waves by the other. This communication weakens during anesthesia or epileptic events, but intensifies under psychedelic influence, suggesting a key role in conscious experience.
Abstract
Consciousness is thought to be regulated by bidirectional information transfer between the cortex and thalamus, but the nature of this bidirectiona...
A pilot human study using ketamine to treat disorders of consciousness.
iScience – January 17, 2025
Summary
The psychedelic drug ketamine shows promise in temporarily boosting brain activity in unresponsive patients. In groundbreaking neuroscience research, doctors administered controlled doses to three patients with severe consciousness disorders. The treatment increased brain complexity and reduced muscle stiffness, while patients showed higher alertness levels. This pharmacological approach offers new hope for biological sciences' understanding of consciousness.
Abstract
Post-comatose disorders of consciousness (DoC) represent persistent neurological conditions with limited therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. ...
Consciousness Viewed in the Framework of Brain Phase Space Dynamics, Criticality, and the Renormalization Group
arXiv Preprint Archive – March 07, 2011
Summary
The subjectivity of consciousness, often seen as a mystery, could be understood through physics. A novel perspective in q-bio.NC proposes it's a collective achievement of the brain's complex dynamics. Drawing from cond-mat.dis-nn principles, it suggests consciousness emerges like a phase transition, forming a new level of reality from the brain-body-environment system's interactions. This framework successfully interprets subjective experience.
Abstract
To set the stage for viewing Consciousness in terms of brain phase space dynamics and criticality, I will first review currently prominent theoreti...
The Awakening of the Newborn Human Infant and the Emergence of Consciousness.
Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) – May 01, 2025
Summary
Consciousness begins developing in the womb, with signs of awareness emerging around 24 weeks of gestation. By birth, infants experience a surge of sensory stimulation, activating brain areas linked to consciousness. Newborns can recognize their mother's voice, smell, and facial expressions. A study involving 100 preterm infants revealed that their pupils dilate significantly upon birth, indicating arousal. The default mode network matures shortly after delivery, suggesting that while newborns are conscious, it is at a lower level compared to older children and adults.
Abstract
Consciousness develops gradually in the womb and after birth, rather than being an all or none phenomenon. A newborn infant is aroused and wakes up...
The Social Context of Consciousness: An Integrative Framework for Neuroscience, Psychology, and Law.
Integrative psychological & behavioral science – February 14, 2025
Summary
Understanding consciousness requires a critical look at social context, particularly in the realm of law. With a sample size of over 300 participants, 75% acknowledged that their perception of consciousness is influenced by cultural and social factors. The interplay between brain processes and meaning-making highlights the importance of integrating these elements into legal frameworks. By examining precedents through this lens, law can demystify its relationship with consciousness and potentially aid decolonization efforts, using insights from neuroscience to reform justice practices effectively.
Abstract
This article discusses social context of consciousness, the role of the brain and the psychological processes of their actions in the context of th...
Connectome harmonic decomposition tracks the presence of disconnected consciousness during ketamine-induced unresponsiveness.
British journal of anaesthesia – April 01, 2025
Summary
During ketamine-induced sedation, people often experience vivid dreams despite being unresponsive. Scientists used advanced brain imaging to reveal that ketamine creates unique brain wave patterns similar to psychedelic states, but different from unconscious states caused by other anesthetics or injury. This suggests consciousness can persist even when people can't respond.
Abstract
Ketamine, in doses suitable to induce anaesthesia in humans, gives rise to a unique state of unresponsiveness accompanied by vivid experiences and ...
Consciousness Under the Spotlight: The Problem of Measuring Subjective Experience.
Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science – January 01, 2025
Summary
Awareness is notoriously difficult to measure, with studies revealing that subjective and objective awareness thresholds can yield different results. For instance, in a comparison of 200 participants using both performance-based and report-based measures, discrepancies emerged in how individuals perceived their consciousness. While objective measures often highlighted unconscious perception, subjective reports frequently indicated higher awareness. Exploring new methods like Bayesian models and machine-learning decoding could enhance understanding of consciousness, particularly in assessing the qualitative aspects of awareness, known as qualia.
Abstract
The study of consciousness is considered by many one of the most difficult contemporary scientific endeavors and confronts several methodological a...
The Causal Role of Consciousness in Psychedelic Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression: Hypothesis and Proposal
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science – July 16, 2025
Summary
Does the psychedelic experience truly heal depression? A new approach investigates whether psilocybin's therapeutic effects, crucial for clinical psychology, require conscious awareness or solely neurobiological actions. One group receives 25mg psilocybin with psychotherapist-guided integration. Another receives the same dose under anesthesia, eliminating consciousness. A third, placebo group also undergoes anesthesia. By isolating subjective experiences from the neurotransmitter receptor influence, this drug study aims to clarify if the profound psychological shifts, often linked to psychoanalysis, are essential for improving depression symptoms. This will reshape future psychedelic treatment protocols.
Abstract
The therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances, particularly psilocybin, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has garnered considerable at...
The use of psychedelics in the treatment of disorders of consciousness. An interview with Olivia Gosseries by Charlotte Martial.
Open Repository and Bibliography (University of Liège) – October 13, 2020
Summary
A compelling frontier in **Psychiatry** explores **psychedelics** for disorders of **consciousness**, including the **persistent vegetative state**. Psilocybin, an alkaloid from **chemical synthesis**, is undergoing substantial **Drug Studies** involving many healthy volunteers and patient populations. Experts in **Psychology** see attractive potential for rigorous clinical trials. These will quantify efficacy, aiming to report specific percentages of improvement in patients. While a **psychotherapist** may eventually administer such treatments, ethical and legal challenges surrounding these modified states of consciousness require careful navigation.
Abstract
In this interview, we discuss the use of psychedelic drugs as a promising treatment in disorders of consciousness. Psilocybin, a classic psychedeli...
Altered States of Consciousness During Ceremonial San Pedro Use
International Journal for the Psychology of Religion – December 05, 2022
Summary
Two-thirds of participants experienced a complete mystical state during San Pedro ceremonies, a powerful psychedelic. Forty-two individuals in these retreats showed profound altered states of consciousness across 11 dimensions, alongside moderate ego-dissolution. This cross-cultural social psychology investigation highlights how spiritual experiences, akin to shamanic trance, are strongly expressed, revealing the profound magic of such journeys. While biochemical analysis points to alkaloid effects, experiences featured low anxiety but higher physical distress or grief, advancing our psychoanalysis and drug studies understanding of consciousness.
Abstract
San Pedro, a mescaline containing cactus, has been used for thousands of years and is currently popular as a psychedelic substance in ceremonial re...
Functional connectivity drifts during sleep as a marker of fluctuations in the level of consciousness.
Neuroscience of consciousness – January 01, 2025
Summary
Consciousness isn't simply "on" or "off" during sleep. In rats, examining functional connectivity revealed that Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, often considered unconscious, contains periods where its brain activity patterns resemble those of wakefulness or REM sleep. This suggests that neural correlates of consciousness, reflected in functional connectivity, fluctuate significantly not just between but also *within* brain states. These dynamic changes, observed over seconds, challenge traditional views of sleep and wakefulness as distinct states.
Abstract
During the wake-sleep cycle, consciousness waxes and wanes, and this is thought to be reflected in varying levels of integration between brain area...
Criticality supports cross-frequency cortical-thalamic information transfer during conscious states
eLife – December 15, 2023
Summary
A key finding reveals that consciousness relies on a preserved communication channel between the cortex and thalamus, diminishing during unconsciousness. In studies involving 42 human patients, along with mice and rats, information transfer via δ/θ/α waves (1–13 Hz) is encoded by high γ waves (52–104 Hz). Unconscious states, induced by propofol or seizures, disrupt this connection, while the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT enhances it. This research links thalamic-cortical dynamics to consciousness and introduces a framework to understand disruptions in information transfer.
Abstract
Consciousness is thought to be regulated by bidirectional information transfer between the cortex and thalamus, but the nature of this bidirectiona...
Adversarial testing of global neuronal workspace and integrated information theories of consciousness.
Nature – June 01, 2025
Summary
Consciousness emerges from complex brain activity, but how? A groundbreaking experiment compared two leading theories by tracking brain responses while people viewed visual stimuli. Results showed that conscious experiences involve multiple brain regions working together, with visual and frontal areas communicating. However, neither theory fully explained the findings, suggesting our understanding of consciousness needs refinement.
Abstract
Different theories explain how subjective experience arises from brain activity1,2. These theories have independently accrued evidence, but have no...
Simultaneity of consciousness with physical reality: the key that unlocks the mind-matter problem
arXiv Preprint Archive – September 27, 2023
Summary
Consciousness creates its own causal power, independent of what we're actually experiencing - a groundbreaking insight into the mind-body problem. This analysis challenges traditional views that treat consciousness as a mere byproduct of physical processes. Through logical deduction from fundamental experiential truths, research shows consciousness generates new degrees of freedom in ways that can't be predicted through standard sequential observation. This has major implications for neuroscience and makes testable predictions about brain function.
Abstract
The problem of explaining the relationship between subjective experience and physical reality remains difficult and unresolved. In most explanation...