Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Peter Bruza, Makiko Yamada et al.
8 citations
A new hypothesis called Quantum-like Qualia (QQ) proposes that qualia—the qualities of conscious experience—are best described by the mathematical structure of quantum theory, rather than as points in a dimensional space. The standard view assumes qualia can be measured without changing them, but empirical findings show that internal attention can alter qualia during measurement. QQ treats qualia as observables, sensory inputs and internal attention as states, and measurement outcomes as probabilistic. This structure predicts that qualia can be indeterminate, which can be tested through order effects or violations of Bell inequalities. Confirmation would suggest that quantum mathematics offers novel insights into consciousness.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Raymond Romand, Günter Ehret
8 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs), including out-of-body experiences (OBEs), can be explained by neuro-functional models of altered brain states. By comparing reports from original NDEs with those from experimental settings—such as drug consumption, epilepsy, brain stimulation, ischemic stress, and fighter pilot tests under gravitational stress causing cephalic nervous system ischemia—a large overlap of themes emerged. These models offer scientifically appropriate causal explanations for NDEs. The generation of OBEs can be localized to the temporo-parietal junction, a multimodal association area. The literature suggests that NDEs may arise as hallucination-like phenomena from a brain in altered states of consciousness.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Gijs Huisman
8 citations
Research on mediated social touch (MST) often relies on theory theory or simulation theory of social cognition, but these frameworks fail to explain real-world MST interactions. This paper argues for an interaction theory approach, grounded in enactivism and phenomenology, which better accounts for participatory sense-making and haptic engagement. Three future research directions are proposed to advance the study of MST outside laboratory settings.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2014
Emma P Cusumano, Amir Raz
8 citations
Psychoanalysis offers phenomenological tools that can advance the study of consciousness, addressing a gap in cognitive sciences where techniques for elucidating subjective life are lacking. Experiential reporting methods must match complex theories of brain function and sophisticated neuroimaging. Psychoanalysts use systematic observation and unstructured narrative to help patients articulate experience and bring unconscious contents to awareness. Individuals who have undergone analysis become experts in discerning subjective experience, making them ideal for neurophenomenology. Analytic techniques can guide untrained participants toward greater awareness of selfhood, temporality, and inter-subjectivity. Mining psychoanalysis for methodological innovations offers a fresh direction for neuropsychoanalysis and cognitive science.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Olga Tymofiyeva, Benjamin S Sipes, Tracy Luks et al.
7 citations
A 12-week mindfulness-based intervention (TARA) in healthy adolescents aged 14–18 increased white matter connectivity in interoceptive brain networks, including the right insula and right putamen. These brain changes were linked to improved sleep quality and emotional well-being. The intervention was delivered remotely and showed high feasibility and safety. The TARA group, but not controls, had significantly better sleep quality and increased insula node strength associated with emotional well-being. A white matter interoception network strengthened after TARA. The findings suggest TARA may improve psychological health in adolescents by enhancing structural connectivity in interoceptive regions.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Shadi Beshai
7 citations
Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) share substantial conceptual overlap despite apparent differences. This article defines both approaches and uses depression as an example to highlight their common threads, particularly through the Buddhist Psychological Model and the foundational cognitive model. The author argues that mindfulness has been effectively integrated into CBT as part of the "third wave" of interventions, helping clinicians and scientists recognize the concordance between ancient philosophical wisdom and modern therapeutic practice. The aim is to demonstrate the breadth of CBT and explain why mindfulness continues to be incorporated to address mental health concerns and promote wellbeing.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Thurston Lacalli
7 citations
Consciousness has two general evolutionary functions: expanding behavioral repertoires through neurocircuitry innovations that depend on consciousness, and shortening the time scale for altering preprogrammed behaviors from generations to real-time. However, these do not explain why consciousness is proximately adaptive. Consciousness likely first evolved to make motivational control more responsive to an individual's past experiences via memory, such as consciously inhibiting harmful appetitive behaviors. For amniote vertebrates, this memory role may have led to broader functions like global behavioral oversight or conferring meaning on sensory experience. Meaning here is valence embodied in genomic instructions for phenomenal contents, constituting species memory that stores adaptive information across evolutionary time.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2023
Marius Usher, Niccolò Negro, Hilla Jacobson et al.
7 citations
The Unfolding Argument (UA) against causal structure theories of consciousness relies on unwarranted assumptions that express a behaviorist methodology, despite its proponents' claims. The same reasoning can be applied to functionalist approaches, proving too much and deeming a wide range of non-causal structure theories unscientific. The authors argue that the UA's philosophical assumptions are overly restrictive and fit poorly with common practice in cognitive neuroscience. They propose a more inclusive methodology for consciousness science that incorporates neural, behavioral, and phenomenological evidence from the first-person perspective. Theories of consciousness should be tested and evaluated on humans, not on systems considerably different from us, thus restricting the range of systems rather than the methodology.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Ido Hartogsohn
7 citations
When Santo Daime ayahuasca rituals moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift both enabled continued practice and introduced new challenges. Based on interviews with 12 daimistas who participated in virtual ceremonies via Zoom, the analysis identifies that online rituals allowed religious continuity during social distancing, fostered global community, and opened new avenues for participation and learning. However, participants also reported an impoverished ritual experience marked by greater distractions, technical difficulties, low sensory fidelity, social anxiety, and a tension between social and spiritual dimensions. Concerns about technological mediation, consumerism, commodification, and the digital divide emerged, with limitations amplified by the immersive, body-oriented nature of psychedelic experience.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Christian Kronsted, Sean Kugele, Zachariah A Neemeh et al.
7 citations
Smooth coping—skillful, habituated action like walking, driving, or cooking—is characterized by rapidity and reduced cognitive load. The authors develop a conceptual model of smooth coping within the LIDA cognitive architecture, which implements global workspace theory. They argue that smooth coping consists of sequences of automatized actions intermittently interspersed with consciously mediated action selection, supplemented by never-conscious dorsal stream processes for online adjustments. To implement this, they introduce an Automatized Action Selection sub-module. The model integrates embodied intelligence from enactivism with representations and conscious control mechanisms, addressing how smooth coping can be modeled in autonomous agents and implemented in artificial agents.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2022
Jonathan Led Larsen, Katrine Schepelern Johansen, Mimi Yung Mehlsen
7 citations
Dual diagnosis—when substance use and another mental disorder occur together—lacks a theoretical framework for communication across disciplines and services. This paper examines whether Enactive Psychiatry can fill that gap. The authors take a pragmatic approach: first, a historical analysis of how the theoretical gap in dual diagnosis developed; second, applying Enactive Psychiatry to longitudinal data on cannabis use trajectories in psychosis disorders. They suggest the enactive approach may help achieve a more expedient pragmatic grip on the field. They also consider whether enactive and related systems-thinking theories could prompt a wider progressive shift in psychiatry, but argue this potential is weaker unless complexity like that in dual diagnosis is demonstrated in other clinical fields.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2021
Bernhard Hommel
7 citations
People represent themselves using the same basic cognitive mechanisms they use to represent other individuals, events, and objects. This self-representation works by binding sensory codes that result from one's own actions into a 'Me-File'—an integrated event file. This view aligns with a Humean bundle-self theory, where the self is not a unified entity but a collection of perceptions. Recent extensions of the Theory of Event Coding provide the necessary mechanistic ingredients for this account. The Me-File concept offers a foundation for more targeted experimentation and for building artificial agents with human-like selves.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2021
Martin J Dorahy, Rafaële J C Huntjens, Rosemary J Marsh et al.
7 citations
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is characterized by distinct identity states, each with its own sense of self, but whether these states provide a continuous self over time (diachronic unity) had not been studied. This study assessed diachronic disunity in 14 adults with DID (in both adult and child identity states), 19 adults with psychosis, 55 general-population adults, 26 general-population children, and 23 adults imagining themselves as children. Diachronic disunity appeared to some degree in all groups, not only psychiatric samples. DID adults reported more dissociation and self-confusion than psychosis and adult comparison groups but did not differ on the diachronic measure.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Qiyan Peng, Yujie Dong, Jie Jin et al.
6 citations
A meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials involving 643 participants found that mindfulness-based interventions significantly reduce parental stress, improve mindfulness awareness, and alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress in parents of children with autism. The interventions also significantly improved social responsiveness in children with autism. However, no significant effects were found for reducing problematic behaviors in children, improving children's emotional and behavioral difficulties, or enhancing parental psychological resilience. The effects on children's emotional and behavioral challenges and parental resilience remain inconclusive.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Qi Qi
6 citations
Awareness, non-judgmental acceptance, and focused attention—core dimensions of mindfulness—strengthen mental resilience, which in turn improves athletic performance. Emotional intelligence amplifies the positive effects of mindfulness on both mental resilience and performance. Data from 332 athletes in China, collected across three time points, showed that mental resilience partially explains how mindfulness boosts athletic outcomes. The findings suggest that coaches and sports psychologists can use targeted mindfulness and emotional intelligence interventions to enhance athletes' performance and well-being.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Andrew Boxer, Frances Shawyer, Ian Coghlan et al.
6 citations
People who attended a 30-day Lam Rim meditation retreat and had exposure to both traditional Buddhism and Western mindfulness described differences between the two approaches. They found the Western definition of mindfulness unclear compared to specific Buddhist understandings. Western applications focused narrowly on health and productivity, while traditional Buddhism offered a broader life philosophy. Participants identified Buddhist concepts—impermanence, mind science, the Four Noble Truths, emptiness, dependent arising, and compassion—as potentially helpful for enriching Western mindfulness-based interventions. Some concepts, like compassion, already have secular frameworks, but further integration of deeper Buddhist perspectives could promote holistic mental health within a non-religious framework.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Michael L Woodruff
6 citations
Tonic immobility (TI) is an innate, last-resort response to predators, often called death feigning or thanatosis, but death feigning includes a broader set of behaviors, with TI as its final stage. This complexity suggests death feigning may involve higher-order intentionality in animals, which could imply some form of phenomenal consciousness. Evidence shows TI alone is an effective predator defense, and its cessation by the prey indicates a first-order intentional state, linked to anoetic and possibly noetic consciousness. Fear should be treated as an intervening variable in TI research. TI may be associated with primal sensory and anoetic consciousness, its termination with noetic consciousness, but autonoetic self-reflective consciousness appears absent. The hypothesis that TI is an evolutionary precursor to theory of mind in humans is discussed as a caution.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Muhmmad Qabil Jamil Al-Badiri, Fataneh Ghadirian, Hosein Zahednezhad et al.
6 citations
Both in-person and internet-delivered Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs reduced depressive symptoms and improved mental health among nurses at a hospital in Iraq. In a study of 72 registered nurses, half reported mild somatic symptoms and 40% moderate symptoms, with most showing no mental distress. The online MBSR group showed a significantly greater reduction in general health questionnaire scores compared to the in-person group, suggesting that telehealth-delivered MBSR may be particularly effective for addressing psychosomatic symptoms and enhancing mental well-being in this population.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2023
Andrew Jones
6 citations
The figure of the 'mad scientist' associated with unethical LSD experiments persists in public imagination even as psychedelic stigma fades. Scientists and humanities scholars have tried to separate careful from ignorant use of psychedelics, but historical examples from Canada show that knowledgeable psychedelic therapists also used LSD on vulnerable populations in correctional facilities. Enthusiasm about the drug's potential led experienced therapists to apply it in institutional settings like prisons. This history reveals how modern industrial society's institutional context shaped past psychedelic therapy and suggests today's therapists must consider how this broader context affects their work.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2014
Benjamin D Young
6 citations
Qualitative-consciousness, the felt character of an experience, arises at the sensory level of olfactory processing and pervades smell experiences. Building on the distinction between Access and Phenomenal Consciousness, the paper distinguishes Awareness from Qualitative-consciousness in a conceptually precise and empirically viable way. Empirical research shows that olfactory qualitative-consciousness can occur without awareness, but any olfactory state we are aware of is always qualitative. Evidence comes from mate selection, social preferences, and the role of olfactory deficits in affective disorders. Experiments on olfactory imagery also confirm that olfactory awareness is always qualitatively conscious—all olfactory consciousness smells phenomenal.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Reut Paz, Nitza Davidovitch
5 citations
Mindfulness training and trait mindfulness are linked to greater psychological well-being and resilience among Orthodox Jewish teachers in Israel. Trait mindfulness was negatively associated with perceived stress. Ultra-Orthodox teachers reported higher stress than national religious teachers. The study suggests that mindfulness programs should consider participants' religious and cultural backgrounds to improve effectiveness, as generic international models may overlook these needs.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Alberto Chiesa, Cristiano Crescentini, Fabio D'Antoni et al.
5 citations
A nine-month mindfulness teacher training program enhanced the ability to perceive and interpret bodily signals—known as interoceptive awareness—in 38 individuals training to become mindfulness-based intervention teachers, compared with 24 matched controls. The trained group showed significantly greater increases in awareness of mind-body integration. Although overall emotional distress did not differ between groups, increases in self-regulation scores within the training group were linked to decreases in depression and total emotional distress. The findings suggest that mindfulness training for future teachers further improves their capacity to attend to, regulate, and interpret bodily signals.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2025
Xiao Han, Mingmu Jiao, Gemma M Perey
5 citations
Over 12 months, 216 secondary school educators in mainland China reported reduced emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, while their emotional intelligence remained stable. More daily mindfulness practice was linked to less emotional exhaustion. Interviews with 35 participants revealed themes of heavy burnout, the perceived value of emotional intelligence, mindfulness as a coping strategy, personal coping methods, high self-awareness paired with difficulty regulating emotions, and systemic pressures. Practical barriers limited sustained mindfulness engagement. The findings suggest mindfulness can help reduce emotional exhaustion in educators, but systemic and practical constraints affect its use.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Michele Ferreira Rodrigues, Laiana Quagliato, Jose Carlos Appolinario et al.
5 citations
About 30% of people with major depressive disorder have treatment-resistant depression (TRD), which responds poorly to standard therapies. Online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (eMBCT) delivered via live video sessions was tested in a small feasibility trial at a Brazilian institute. Twenty-eight outpatients with TRD were randomly assigned to either an 8-week eMBCT program or a control group. The eMBCT group showed large improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms, while the control group showed no significant changes. Between-group comparisons also favored eMBCT for reducing depression and improving clinical global impressions. eMBCT combined with medication appears feasible for TRD, though a future trial with a manualized control is needed.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2024
Robert Prentner, Donald D Hoffman
5 citations
Consciousness science is at an impasse, and the physicalist worldview is blamed. Conscious agent theory (CAT) posits that consciousness is fundamental and exists outside spacetime, with agency and mathematical structure as core features. For CAT to become a robust scientific framework, it must integrate with the interface theory of perception (ITP), an evolutionary model of perception. ITP suggests that perception is an interface that hides reality, not a window onto it. The authors argue that we live inside a simulation instantiated in consciousness, not digitally, where the simulation is an interface representation of conscious agents' dynamics. This implies AI could be used in consciousness science by customizing this interface.