Interbrain synchrony—the alignment of brain activity between two or more people—increases during mindfulness and meditation practices, especially when partners share a goal or perform cooperative tasks. A review of seven studies found that synchrony in theta, alpha, delta, and gamma brainwave bands emerged across different protocols. Anterior theta synchrony appeared during cooperation after mindfulness induction; motor tasks with shared breathing and mirroring produced alpha, theta, and delta coherence in frontal regions; and gamma synchrony rose in socio-emotional exercises and among expert meditators practicing together. Lower-frequency coupling strengthened when breath focus was combined with a shared goal. The evidence suggests that interbrain synchrony varies with expertise, task type, and personality traits like agreeableness.
Conscious perception is mediated by mental representations rather than being a direct encounter with reality. Representations are defined through a unified theory of long-term memory that integrates both explicit and implicit divisions, offering reconciliation between neuroscience and philosophy of mind. Conscious experience results from retrieving explicit memory representations from short-term memory. Intentionality is strongly linked to memory representations, capturing both its "what is it" and "what it is like" aspects. Notions such as emergence and qualia are integral to all conscious experience, reflecting memory-emotion interactions in neuro-affective networks. Concepts from philosophy of mind can be harmonized non-reductionistically with neurocognitive theories defining memory representations as multilevel networks of large-scale brain systems.
Autopoietic systems (biological organisms) and machine learning systems (MLSs) differ fundamentally in how causal reasoning emerges and operates. While both can exhibit similar behaviors and cognitive abilities, they are structurally distinct in how causality is operationalized, physically embodied, and epistemologically grounded. In organisms, causal reasoning is tied to self-maintenance across multiple organizational levels, with goals emerging from survival imperatives. In MLSs, causality is implemented through statistical optimization with externally imposed objectives, lacking the material self-reorganization that drives biological causal advancement.