PsyArXiv
June 21, 2026
preprint
A theoretical framework proposes that self-consciousness arises not from specialized brain regions but from domain-general areas dynamically deployed to meet two core computational demands: self-distinctiveness and self-renewal. Integration is a fundamental principle that unifies self-experience. Two hierarchically structured subsystems, aligned with the Action-Mode Network and Default Mode Network, underpin self-related processing. These are regulated by the insula-centered body-based self-schema and the mPFC-centered knowledge-based self-schema, supporting bodily and mental interactions with the external environment. The framework outlines open questions for future research.
PsyArXiv
June 21, 2026
preprint
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) during sleep involve a temporary sense of the self being outside the physical body. In an online survey of adults reporting vivid sleep-related experiences, OBEs were compared to sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, and ordinary remembered dreams. OBEs showed a distinct increase in feelings of disembodiment and ego dissolution, and a high proportion of complete mystical-type experiences. Unlike sleep paralysis, which was linked to anxiety and impaired control, OBEs were not associated with higher psychological symptoms, poorer sleep quality, or greater depersonalization. Personality differences were minimal, with lower neuroticism in the OBE group. The findings indicate sleep-related OBEs are transient alterations of bodily self-consciousness, not markers of broader clinical or dispositional issues.
PsyArXiv
June 19, 2026
preprint
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could become a valuable methodological tool for advancing consciousness research beyond the current impasse highlighted by the Cogitate adversarial collaboration, which tested Integrated Information Theory and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and found only partial support for both. BCIs combine recording and stimulation to monitor and influence conscious and unconscious brain mechanisms, offering an integrated approach for testing theories of consciousness and tackling philosophical conundrums like the hard problem. Clinically, BCIs already aid patients with disorders of consciousness, bridging empirical investigation and intervention to address open questions about the nature of consciousness.
PsyArXiv
May 29, 2026
preprint
Consciousness science is fragmented, with theories operating in isolation and accumulating anomalies. The principle of recurrency—functional and architectural feedback loops—offers a unifying, mechanistic scaffold. All theories of consciousness tacitly invoke feedback loops and can be re-expressed along a single axis of recursion. Four nested levels (cellular, local inter-areal, global, and lateral) map onto state, phenomenal content, manipulative access, and experiential similarity, tying evolved anatomy to phenomenon. The traditional phenomenal-versus-access distinction dissolves into a graded cascade where deeper recursion expands reportable variables. Recurrence is evolutionarily and ontologically favored, rebutting feed-forward objections. Brain-body and environment loops ground selfhood. Clinically, targeting recurrent pathways may yield new biomarkers and treatments for disorders of consciousness.
PsyArXiv
April 10, 2026
preprint
A bioresponsive virtual-reality breathing environment with dynamic particle-driven aesthetics improves box breathing and modulates altered states of consciousness. The environment, which responds to users' breathing patterns, was empirically validated to enhance the practice of box breathing and influence subjective experiences of consciousness. The findings suggest that such bioresponsive VR systems can effectively support breathing techniques and alter conscious states.
PsyArXiv
March 28, 2026
preprint
The Allostatic Reset Model (ARM) proposes that psychedelic therapy works as a staged, multi-system adaptive stress process. A psychedelic dose first disrupts homeostasis through acute sympathetic activation, psychological challenge, and increased neural entropy. This is followed by a compensatory phase of parasympathetic engagement, heightened plasticity, and integrative meaning-making, which the authors associate with the 'after glow' experience. Epigenetic changes help sustain long-term biological change. The model draws on concepts such as hormesis, rebound, supercompensation, and the 'Hero's Journey' archetype to explain how a transient pharmacological exposure can lead to enduring psychological transformation.
PsyArXiv
March 18, 2026
preprint
A novel experimental protocol, the Causal Architecture Discrimination Protocol (CADP), is proposed to distinguish between two competing theories of consciousness: those that attribute causal power to the intrinsic properties of a system and those that attribute it to the organizational structure of that system. The protocol leverages differences in how these accounts predict the causal effects of interventions on a system's components. By specifying a concrete experimental design, the paper aims to provide a method for empirically testing these foundational metaphysical claims about the nature of consciousness, moving the debate beyond purely theoretical arguments.
PsyArXiv
March 17, 2026
preprint
Non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSCs) entered through psychedelics, breathwork, hypnosis, or other means show therapeutic promise for improving well-being and reducing psychopathology. While research has mapped the central nervous system dynamics behind these states, the role of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) remains largely unexplored. Growing evidence suggests the ANS mediates processes linked to NOSCs, including emotional regulation, interoception, and cognitive function. This review proposes a framework where inducing physiological stress within a conducive context supports NOSC emergence, and the coexistence of high arousal and relaxation—sympathetic and parasympathetic tone—characterizes peak NOSCs. Understanding ANS dynamics may allow safer induction, optimized therapeutic impact, and real-time physiological monitoring of these states.
PsyArXiv
March 8, 2026
preprint
Advanced meditation practices can lead to psychological adverse effects, including challenging, unpleasant, and negative experiences. The authors argue for recognizing these potential harms to ensure safe dissemination and practice. They review existing evidence on such experiences, emphasizing the need for better understanding, screening, and support for practitioners. The paper calls for integrating awareness of adverse effects into meditation research, teaching, and clinical applications to mitigate risks and promote safety.
PsyArXiv
February 27, 2026
preprint
The Altered States Database (ASDB) is an open-access collection of psychometric questionnaire data on subjective experiences during pharmacologically and non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness. Updated annually, the current update adds data from 2025, sourced from a systematic literature review following PRISMA guidelines. Screening 578 items yielded 32 journal articles, mostly reporting on the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) and the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scales (11-ASC, 5D-ASC). The ASDB now includes data from 36 pharmacological and 18 non-pharmacological consciousness-modifying techniques, encompassing 289 journal articles and 836 datasets from 29,287 participants. The database is freely accessible online.
PsyArXiv
February 27, 2026
preprint
A new questionnaire, the Six-Dimensional Visual Hallucination Questionnaire (6D-VHQ), was developed to systematically measure the content of visual hallucinations induced by psychedelics and stroboscopic light. The tool assesses six dimensions of visual experiences, providing a standardized method for quantifying and comparing hallucinatory content across different induction methods. This allows for more precise characterization of visual phenomena in research settings.
PsyArXiv
February 8, 2026
preprint
Young children commonly report non-ordinary experiences such as extra sensory perceptions, out-of-body experiences, and self-transcendence, reflecting relational, pre-linguistic, and weakly individualised forms of consciousness. This paper integrates qualitative studies of children's experiences with an eight-dimensional model of altered consciousness, identifying phenomenological parallels between childhood experiences and adult altered states of consciousness, including vivid imagery, bodily dislocation, self-boundary dissolution, timelessness, heightened affect, and altered cognitive control. The authors propose that early transcendental modes of awareness may form an experiential template that mimics adults' pursuit of altered states through meditation, psychedelics, sensory deprivation, and spiritual practices, highlighting the need for systematic developmental and neuro-phenomenological research.
PsyArXiv
February 8, 2026
preprint
Experienced meditation practitioners who have used psychedelics describe how meditation practices can serve as preparation for psychedelic experiences. They report that skills such as focused attention, emotional regulation, and non-judgmental awareness help them navigate challenging psychedelic states and integrate insights afterward. The practitioners emphasize that meditation cultivates a mindset of openness and equanimity that can enhance the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. The findings suggest that combining meditation with psychedelic use may support more meaningful and less distressing experiences, though the study does not test causal effects or compare outcomes across groups.
PsyArXiv
January 24, 2026
preprint
State Space Theory (SST) proposes that consciousness arises from the brain's ability to reconstruct the dynamics of its own neural activity through hierarchical delay coordinate embedding—a process where recurrent cortical circuits use time-delayed signals to build internal models. Gain modulation determines which reconstructions achieve system-wide influence, and SST identifies these dynamics with consciousness itself, not merely as correlates. The theory maps major cognitive theories onto this architecture: parallel embedding engines correspond to competing drafts, global broadcasting reflects gain-amplified propagation, and the attention schema emerges as a higher-order reconstruction. SST generates falsifiable predictions about perceptual dynamics and temporal vulnerability windows, offering a computational foundation that grounds existing theories mechanistically.
PsyArXiv
January 18, 2026
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Consciousness research has become contentious, with adversarial collaborations and open letters labeling some theories as pseudoscience, making investigation difficult. The author argues that the hard problem of consciousness and related questions may not be well-posed. A more precise approach is proposed: rather than defining consciousness with strict statements, researchers should examine its physical and conceptual constituents. This shift aims to clarify common queries about the source and emergence of conscious experience.
PsyArXiv
January 15, 2026
preprint
Floatation-REST, a non-pharmacological therapy involving neutral buoyancy and reduced sensory input, induces altered states of consciousness characterized by oceanic boundlessness, disembodiment, unity, and spiritual-type experiences—termed “aquahenosis.” In a randomized controlled feasibility trial with 75 treatment-seeking adults with anxiety and depression, six sessions of Floatation-REST increased interoceptive awareness of cardiorespiratory sensations and produced these altered states more than a zero-gravity chair condition. Effects were strongest with longer, flexible sessions. Experiential profiles overlapped with those from psilocybin and ketamine on boundary-dissolution dimensions, identifying Floatation-REST as a tractable method for inducing specific altered states linked to positive affective change.
PsyArXiv
December 12, 2025
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The field of consciousness research lacks conceptual clarity because theories define consciousness in incompatible ways and lack clear success criteria. This arises from insufficient pragmatic pressure: theories are rewarded for explaining 'consciousness-as-such' rather than solving concrete problems. A pragmatic shift is proposed: focus on models that advance well-defined objectives, remaining neutral about metaphysical commitments. Analogies from stock-market trading and the history of science, such as Newtonian mechanics and relativity offering incompatible yet functional pictures of space and time, suggest that ontologically pluralist frameworks enable genuine progress.
PsyArXiv
November 14, 2025
preprint
Research on the neural basis of consciousness has relied heavily on human studies, but available techniques in humans cannot probe neuron- and circuit-level mechanisms. Animal experiments, especially in rodents, can overcome this limitation by combining large-scale neuronal recordings with causal manipulations like optogenetics. Rodents cannot verbally report subjective experiences, but behavioral indicators of consciousness are reliable across species, and the range of rodent behavioral tests has expanded. This chapter reviews recent advances in rodent consciousness research, emphasizing how microcircuit-level studies can expand theoretical frameworks. The authors argue that rodent experiments should become a standard tool in consciousness science, complementing human studies.
PsyArXiv
November 11, 2025
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A new non-verbal tool, the Meditation Pictographic Scale (MPS), reliably measures subjective experiences during meditation without relying on verbal self-reports. Developed through a first-person phenomenological approach, the MPS was validated across four phases including interviews and a randomized controlled trial with 373 adults comparing three meditation practices (breath counting, loving-kindness, decentering) and an active control. Psychometric analysis showed the MPS detected meditation-induced changes, with items clustering into positive, negative, and distortion-related experiences. The scale demonstrated stable psychometric properties and sensitivity to specific practices, offering a novel method for studying meditation states and altered consciousness.
PsyArXiv
October 27, 2025
preprint
Psychedelic-assisted therapies are often explained through the 5-HT2A receptor, but evidence of GABAergic deficits in conditions like depression, PTSD, and addiction suggests a broader mechanism. A chemist proposes that modulation of inhibitory circuits acts as a necessary gate, converting temporary 5-HT2A activation into lasting effects. Evidence includes coordinated GABA-glutamate changes in the prefrontal cortex, critical-period reopening lasting 2 days to 4 weeks beyond receptor occupancy, and GABAergic deficits in target disorders. Predictions include that GABA changes should correlate with network and gamma changes, that enhancing GABA_A activity after the acute phase should shorten plasticity windows, and that baseline GABA levels may predict treatment response. The hypothesis would be challenged if no such correlations appear.
PsyArXiv
October 24, 2025
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Current AI systems lack temporal continuity, operating only in isolated computation episodes. This paper argues that a missing ingredient for artificial consciousness is a persistent, unbroken stream of computation analogous to the human stream of consciousness. The authors propose an architectural framework called stream of computation, based on persistent recursive inference where each cognitive cycle's output feeds into the next, forming a continuous flow of internal states. This goes beyond standard Chain-of-Thought by aiming for autonomy and continual learning, not just on-demand recursion. Mechanisms include continual learning, dynamic switching between inward and outward cognition, and sleep-like phases. The framework promises deeper reasoning and adaptability, and may mark a step towards artificial life with systems whose identity arises from computational continuity.
PsyArXiv
October 2, 2025
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Negative outcome expectations about psychedelic treatment are the strongest predictor of whether chronic pain patients choose to join a psychedelic clinical trial. In a survey of 988 chronic pain patients, those with greater openness to experience and positive expectations were more willing to participate, while negative expectations predicted lower willingness. When all factors were considered together, negative expectancy was the only significant predictor. This suggests that current trials may enroll participants who are more risk tolerant, potentially biasing results and limiting how well findings apply to broader patient populations once psychedelic therapies become mainstream.
PsyArXiv
September 28, 2025
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The authors argue that materialism, which treats inner experience and outer physical entities as independent, is a useful but limited cognitive paradigm. They propose holism as a solution to the explanatory gap: inner experience can be objectively described and has objective causal efficacy. From a third-person perspective, physical properties and spacetime-bound causality are described, excelling for simple systems but creating the explanatory gap. From a first-person perspective, holistic attributes are objectively described, and things interact without a physical medium, forming causality unrestricted by spacetime. These perspectives are complementary.
PsyArXiv
August 23, 2025
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A philosophical argument integrates Predictive Processing and Global Workspace Theory within a non-reductive emergentist framework to explain qualia—the subjective, phenomenal character of experience. The thesis holds that qualia are not mysterious byproducts or illusions but are constituted by intrinsic properties of the integrated, embodied predictive modeling process itself. By reframing the explanatory question from 'generation' to 'realization,' the account aims to dissolve the hard problem of consciousness while avoiding panpsychism and strong illusionism, affirming the reality of subjective experience within a naturalistic, physicalist worldview.
PsyArXiv
August 20, 2025
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A new theoretical framework, the Bi-Interpretive Mind Framework (BIMF), proposes that human cognition and consciousness arise from two interdependent subsystems: a logical, conscious Primary Mind and an intuitive, unconscious Secondary Mind. Subjective experience emerges from an "interpretive handshake" between these systems, and instability in this process—termed interpretive instability—underlies stress, psychopathology, and altered states. The framework reinterprets conditions such as schizophrenia, PTSD, OCD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, dissociation, and addiction as failures in interpretive alignment. Dreams are described as autonomous simulations of the Secondary Mind, ranging from symbolic REM experiences to lucid states. BIMF integrates dual-process cognition, predictive processing, and stress appraisal theories, offering testable predictions for laboratory and clinical research.