Phenomenology of the stream of thought: dissociable dynamic dimensions revealed through experience sampling.
Neuroscience of consciousness January 1, 2026 Sneha K S Sheth, Mike Doswell, Kalina Christoff Hadjiilieva et al.
Over the past 25 years, neuroscience has focused on perceptual consciousness, but the dynamic experience of the stream of thought—first described by William James—has received less attention. The Dynamic Framework of Thought (DFT) provides a taxonomy of thought dynamics. This study used four experiments, including laboratory, online, and fMRI-based settings, to test whether people can introspectively access and distinguish two thought dimensions: freely moving and deliberately directed. In all experiments, participants reported their thought dynamics during a probed resting period with eyes open. Using mixed methods, the findings suggest that individuals have some introspective access to these dynamics.