Content-Free Awareness: EEG-fcMRI Correlates of Consciousness as Such in an Expert Meditator
Frontiers in Psychology February 18, 2020 Ulf Winter, Pierre Levan, Tilmann Lhündrup Borghardt et al. 68 citations
A highly experienced meditator with over 50,000 hours of practice reported experiencing content-free awareness (CFA) during an EEG-fMRI session. During CFA, alpha brainwave power sharply decreased while theta power increased. Functional connectivity increased in the dorsal attention network (DAN) and decreased in the posterior default mode network (DMN). These patterns suggest a top-down attentional state that excludes both external sensory stimuli and internal thoughts from conscious experience. The authors conclude that investigating such states may offer new approaches for identifying the minimal neural correlate of consciousness.