September 13, 2026
Félix Schoeller, Leonardo Christov-Moore, Ninette Simonian et al.
preprint
Aesthetic chills, psychogenic shivers elicited by emotionally charged stimuli such as music, offer a neurophysiological marker bridging subjective experience and measurable physiology. Although neuroimaging has localized chills to reward and interoceptive circuits and behavioral work has linked them to prosocial outcomes, their electrophysiological signature and its relationship to...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
June 30, 2026
Mihir Nath, Nicco Reggente, Neil W. Bailey et al.
preprint
Across contemplative traditions, depper states of meditation are described as states of heightened clarity, vividness, and stillness of mind, yet what this clarity corresponds to in the brain has remained difficult to specify. The functional signal-to-noise ratio (f-SNR) framework frames mental clarity as a measurable property of neural signals: the degree to which brain activity tracks the...
PsyArXiv
June 10, 2026
Theo Tobel, Aidan Cone, Emily Choquette et al.
preprint
Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) systematically alters sensory and bodily input by combining neutral buoyancy, thermal and proprioceptive neutrality, attenuation of exteroceptive stimulation, and enhancement of cardiorespiratory signaling to the brain. Here we examined whether this non-pharmacological sensory perturbation induces altered states of consciousness and...
NPJ digital medicine
March 28, 2026
Aidan Cone, Sam Zuzick, Tiffany Durinski et al.
Escalating stress prevalence, particularly among essential service personnel whose cognitive compromise threatens public welfare, necessitates rapid, accessible non-pharmacological interventions. Individuals who struggle with endogenous cultivation of beneficial neuropsychological states may benefit from passive exogenous stimulation. This uncontrolled exploratory investigation (n = 74)...
Frontiers in Psychology
2026
Leonardo Christov-Moore, Félix Schoeller, Mathilda Von Guttenberg et al.
Non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness that promote mental health and wellbeing are a growing focus of clinical and basic research. Previous work has revealed the mood-augmenting, belief-altering, and self-transcendent effects of aesthetic-chills-inducing audiovisual stimulation. The current study investigated how a guided loving kindness meditation (LKM) combined with...
Communications Biology
November 6, 2025
Alex Jinich-Diamant, Sierra Simpson, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz et al.
4 citations
Abstract Mind-body interventions offer promising avenues for improving physical and mental health, yet the comprehensive biological effects of increasingly popular mind-body retreat interventions remain poorly understood. The neural and molecular effects of a 7-day retreat intervention combining meditation, reconceptualization, and open-label placebo healing rituals are investigated in an...
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging
April 1, 2025
Saampras Ganesan, Fernando A Barrios, Ishaan Batta et al.
6 citations
Meditation is a family of ancient and contemporary contemplative mind-body practices that can modulate psychological processes, awareness, and mental states. Over the last 40 years, clinical science has manualized meditation practices and designed various meditation interventions that have shown therapeutic efficacy for disorders including depression, pain, addiction, and anxiety. Over the past...
Neuroscience of Consciousness
2025
Adam Safron, Arthur Juliani, Nicco Reggente et al.
44 citations
How is it that psychedelics so profoundly impact brain and mind? According to the model of "Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics" (REBUS), 5-HT2a agonism is thought to help relax prior expectations, thus making room for new perspectives and patterns. Here, we introduce an alternative (but largely compatible) perspective, proposing that REBUS effects may primarily correspond to a particular (but...
Mindfulness
2025
Juan P Zuniga-Hertz, Sierra Simpson, Ramamurthy Chitetti et al.
3 citations
Meditation has long been known to promote health. We utilized a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the impact of mind-body interventions on the body in a twin cohort during a week-long meditation retreat. This study was designed to address individual changes controlling for intersubject trait variation and explore the role of genetic background on multi-omic factors during meditation....
Scientific Reports
October 26, 2024
Micah Alan Johnson, Ninette Simonian, Nicco Reggente
6 citations
In this randomized, controlled, and double-blind experiment with a relatively large sample (n = 262), a novel technique of audiovisual stimulation (AVS) was demonstrated to substantially improve self-reported mood states by reducing several negative affects, including anxiety and depression, and enhancing performance on mood-sensitive cognitive tasks. Most of the AVS effects were highly similar...
Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science
October 17, 2024
Nicco Reggente, Christian Kothe, Tracy Brandmeyer et al.
15 citations
Meditation practices have demonstrated numerous psychological and physiological benefits, but capturing the neural correlates of varying meditative depths remains challenging. In this study, we aimed to decode self-reported time-varying meditative depth in expert practitioners using electroencephalography (EEG). Expert Vipassana meditators ( n = 34) participated in 2 separate sessions....
Research Square
March 14, 2024
Micah Johnson, Ninette Simonian, Nicco Reggente
Abstract In this randomized, controlled, and double-blind experiment with a relatively large sample (n = 262), a novel technique of audiovisual stimulation (AVS) was demonstrated to substantially improve self-reported mood states by reducing several negative affects, including anxiety and depression, and enhancing performance on mood-sensitive cognitive tasks. Most of the AVS effects were...
PNAS Nexus
February 29, 2024
Félix Schoeller, Leonardo Christov-Moore, Caitlin Lynch et al.
Abstract Why does the same experience elicit strong emotional responses in some individuals while leaving others largely indifferent? Is the variance influenced by who people are (personality traits), how they feel (emotional state), where they come from (demographics), or a unique combination of these? In this 2,900+ participants study, we disentangle the factors that underlie individual...
January 31, 2024
Joshua Cain, Tracy Brandmeyer, Ninette Simonian et al.
9 citations
preprint
This study aims to assess the validity of focused ultrasound (FUS) stimulation as a method for facilitating meditative development, which may have application for novice or intermediate meditators seeking to improve their practice. A growing body of work suggests profound benefits to health and wellbeing following consistent meditation practice; however, successfully maintaining such a practice...
January 31, 2024
Nicco Reggente, Christian Kothe, Tracy Brandmeyer et al.
4 citations
preprint
Meditation practices have demonstrated numerous psychological and physiological benefits, yet capturing the neural correlates of varying meditative depths remains challenging. This study aimed to decode self-reported time-varying meditative depth in expert practitioners using EEG. Expert Vipassana meditators (n=34) participated in two separate sessions. Participants reported their meditative...
BMC Psychiatry
January 10, 2024
Abhinandan Jain, Vladimir Adrien, Pattie Maes et al.
9 citations
Abstract Background Depression is a major global health challenge, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have limited efficacy, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests that peak emotional experiences characterized by awe, transcendence, and meaning hold promise for rapidly shifting maladaptive...
PLOS mental health
2024
Leonardo Christov-Moore, Félix Schoeller, Caitlin Lynch et al.
11 citations
Self-transcendence (ST) is a state of consciousness associated with feelings of ego-dissolution, connectedness, and moral elevation, which mediates well-being, meaning-making, and prosociality. Conventional paths to ST, like religious practice, meditation, and psychedelics, pose nontrivial barriers to entry, limiting ST's study and application. Aesthetic chills (henceforth "chills") are a...
November 22, 2023
Félix Schoeller, Abhinandan Jain, Leonardo Christov-Moore et al.
6 citations
preprint
Aesthetic chills involve pleasurable bodily sensations co-occurring with self-transcendent emotions. In this study, 94 participants were exposed to pre-validated musical stimuli with chills-inducing potential. Participants experiencing chills reported significantly greater psychological insight and emotional awareness compared to non-chills controls. Chills intensity positively correlated with...
Research Square (Research Square)
November 14, 2023
Félix Schoeller, Abhinandan Jain, Vladimir Adrien et al.
2 citations
Abstract Background Depression is a major global health challenge, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have limited efficacy, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests that peak emotional experiences characterized by awe, transcendence, and meaning hold promise for rapidly shifting maladaptive...
bioRxiv Preprint Server
October 25, 2023
Joel Frohlich, Ninette Simonian, Grant Hanada et al.
preprint
Stroboscopic or “flicker” stimulation is a form of periodic visual stimulation that induces geometric hallucinations through closed eyelids. While the visual effects of this form of sensory stimulation have received considerable attention, few studies have investigated the neural entrainment effects of periodic visual stimulation. Here, we introduce two variants of the classic flicker paradigm...
Cognitive Sciences
March 1, 2023
Leonardo Christov-Moore, Alex Jinich-Diamant, Adam Safron et al.
Our culture and its scientific endeavor direly need a holistic characterization of mind and body. Many phenomena attest to the profound effects of beliefs on bodily function (e.g., open-label placebo's effects on chronic pain) and interoceptive systems' role in mental processes (e.g., the emerging role of gut microbiomes in the mood). We need a mechanistic, integrative framework to account for...
Leonardo Christov-Moore, Félix Schoeller, Mathilda Von Guttenberg et al.
preprint
Understanding and facilitating access to non-ordinary experiences that can promote mental health and wellbeing is a growing focus of clinical and basic research. . Previous work has revealed the mood-augmenting, belief-altering, and self-transcendent effects of aesthetic-chills-inducing audiovisual stimulation, as a putative “technodelic.” The current study investigated how a guided loving...