Consciousness and Cognition - Mindscape Collective

Conscious inner life is structured, and a key feature is the unity of consciousness. This work makes precise three features of experience related to unity: environmental embedding, mutual constraint between local and global representations, and top-down object formation. A formal model is introduced based on phenomenal space, defined by quasi-elementary and extended entities, using mereological and topological concepts and a projector-based calculus to capture its dynamical structure. This approach addresses the mind-matter problem by relating environmentally embedded agents to topologically defined objects from decompositions of phenomenal space. The authors suggest consciousness involves a series of transitions between structured layers of experience rather than a single brain-to-mind transition.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.02.002 Full text Medicine Psychology Philosophy

Intensity and memory characteristics of near-death experiences

Consciousness and Cognition July 8, 2017 24 citations

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DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2017.06.018

Non-dual awareness and sensory processing in meditators: Insights from startle reflex modulation

Consciousness and Cognition July 8, 2024 Veena Kumari, Umisha Tailor, A. Saifullah et al. 5 citations

Startle modulation, specifically habituation and prepulse inhibition (PPI), reflects early sensory processing in the brain. In a comparison of regular meditators (32 individuals) and meditation-naïve individuals (36 individuals), no significant group differences emerged in either habituation or PPI. However, among meditators, those who reported being able to sustain non-dual awareness during practice (18 individuals) showed significantly greater PPI than those who could not (14 individuals). These results suggest that subjective differences in meditation experience may relate to distinct sensory processing characteristics.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103722 Meditation Habituation Prepulse inhibition Stimulus psychology +9

The global workspace theory, the phenomenal concept strategy, and the distribution of consciousness.

Consciousness and Cognition August 6, 2020 Dylan Black 3 citations

Peter Carruthers claims that the global workspace theory of consciousness leaves no facts about animal consciousness, and this problem extends to other cognitive theories, threatening the entire field. However, this argument also eliminates facts about human consciousness. The key flawed assumption is that scientific theories must explain away the explanatory gap. An alternative strategy is proposed: introspectable inferential connections from phenomenal concepts to functional concepts allow scientists to identify the global workspace through shared capacities in animals and humans, better reflecting actual scientific practice.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102992 Medicine Psychology Philosophy

Task-induced transient depersonalization- and derealization-like experiences: a comparative examination of mirror gazing and fixed attention tasks

Consciousness and Cognition July 3, 2026 Shun Sasaki, Tokiko Harada, Hideki Ohira

Depersonalization and derealization are dissociative experiences that alter bodily self-awareness and the sense of reality. This study compared the Mirror Gazing Task, where participants looked at their own face, with a Fixed Attention Task, where they stared at a dot on a wall, to see which better induces transient depersonalization- and derealization-like states in 54 non-clinical adults. Both tasks increased depersonalization and derealization ratings compared to baseline, a break, and a follow-up. Depersonalization was higher after the Mirror Gazing Task than after the Fixed Attention Task, but derealization did not clearly differ between tasks. The findings suggest that derealization-like experiences arise from features common to both tasks, while depersonalization-like experiences may be more linked to mirror-based self-focus.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2026.104090 Transient computer programming Cognition Task project management Visual attention +4

Could we perceive the world differently than we do? Neuroscience-based emergentism and the biological function of consciousness

Consciousness and Cognition June 14, 2026 Cyriel M. A. Pennartz, Micha Engeser

Conscious experiences are not accidental byproducts but serve a specific biological function: they provide a multimodal, situational survey of the brain's environment (including the body) that enables deliberate, planned behaviors. This argument is grounded in a neurorepresentationalist position that rejects the separation of phenomenal consciousness from its neural substrate, treating them as one functional entity. The function is illustrated by perceptual phenomena such as seeing the world upright, multisensory integration, and spatial object constancy. Pathological cases like Anton and Bonnet syndrome, where misrepresentation of reality severely impairs behavior, further support this view. The position is contrasted with other proposals, particularly those emphasizing a learning function of consciousness.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2026.104077 Consciousness Function biology Perception Cognition +3

Facilitating unusual bodily experiences and out-of-body experiences across wakefulness and sleep: A high-density EEG and neurophenomenology study

Consciousness and Cognition February 11, 2026 Teresa Campillo-Ferrer, Antonella Iadarola, Ramona Cordani et al.

Unusual bodily experiences (UBEs)—illusory perceptions such as floating, body distortions, or out-of-body sensations—can occur during meditation and sleep. In a controlled sleep laboratory, 20 of 35 healthy participants reported 36 UBEs, primarily during meditation (wakefulness) but also during arousals, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep. Electroencephalography (EEG) analyses revealed that UBEs emerge during intermediate states of consciousness that combine features of wakefulness and sleep. Specifically, UBEs were associated with EEG reactivation: increased high-frequency activity (beta and gamma) and decreased low-frequency activity (delta and theta), especially around temporal regions. These findings offer new insights into the neural correlates of self-consciousness and body perception across sleep and wakefulness.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2026.104002 Meditation Lucid dream Wakefulness Electroencephalography +9

The interplay of psychedelic use and meditation in shaping psychological well-being

Consciousness and Cognition December 15, 2025 Andreas Krabbe, Pilleriin Sikka, Jussi Jylkkä

Meditation practice may enhance the benefits of psychedelic experiences and can confound associations between psychedelic use and well-being. In two cross-sectional online surveys, when examined separately, both cumulative psychedelic use and meditation practice were associated with greater well-being and psychological flexibility. However, when considered jointly, the associations for psychedelics were reduced or became nonsignificant, while meditation remained consistently associated with outcomes. In a second study, participants who experienced a personally meaningful event through meditation alone or combined with psychedelics reported significantly greater improvements in well-being compared with those who used psychedelics alone, though all groups showed positive change on average. Weak evidence suggested a potential synergy between the two practices.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103977 Parapsychology Mental health Consciousness Cognition +3

Embodied cognition: So flexible as to be "disembodied"?

Consciousness and Cognition January 22, 2021 Francesco Ianì

When people incorporate an external object or body into their sense of self—a process called embodiment—there is a measurable cost to their actual body. This review examines evidence from studies of action observation, tool use, the rubber hand illusion, and full-body illusions. The findings suggest that embodiment involves both benefits, such as extending one's capabilities, and costs, including partial disembodiment of one's own body. The argument has implications for the embodied cognition approach.

DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103075 Psychology Medicine

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