How mental training reshapes the temporal architecture of large-scale brain dynamics and how these mechanisms differ between healthy and clinically vulnerable populations remains poorly understood. Time-averaged neural measures collapse the multi-scale nature of brain activity, obscuring the dynamic processes through which behavioural interventions reorganise hierarchical brain function. Here,...
Awakening is reported across contemplative traditions yet remains poorly defined in science, where it is often conflated with transient states induced by meditation or psychedelics, obscuring its significance for theories of consciousness and cognitive architecture. We treat awakening as a functional construct capturing convergence across Hindu and Buddhist sources, phenomenological and...
Distinguishing between self (internal) and environment (external) is fundamental to human experience, yet mind-body traditions describe non-dual states where this boundary dissolves. However, the neural basis of non-duality remains underexplored. We investigate this in advanced and novice meditators from the Isha Yoga tradition and meditation-naïve controls using psychological scales and...
The mechanisms underlying recovery of consciousness after its transient loss remain incompletely understood. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) induced generalized seizures disrupt responsiveness and orientation-key functional dimensions related to consciousness-and are followed by a stereotyped postictal state of temporary unresponsiveness, offering a unique model to study the dynamics of...
Introduction Mind-body practices, such as meditation, enhance mental well-being. Research studies consistently demonstrate improved brain function and psychological well-being in meditation practitioners. A substantial body of neuroscientific evidence highlights changes in alpha and theta frequency bands during meditation among practitioners. Neurophysiological effects of meditation are...
Psychedelics are serotonergic drugs that profoundly alter consciousness, yet their neural mechanisms are not fully understood. A popular theory, RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics (REBUS), posits that psychedelics flatten the hierarchy of information flow in the brain. Here, we investigate hierarchy based on the imbalance between sending and receiving brain signals, as determined by directed...
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are often studied using both structured questionnaires and narrative reports, yet these representations cannot be assumed to provide interchangeable representations of the same experience. Narratives allow flexible expression of different aspects of the experience, whereas questionnaires organize reports into predefined dimensions and retrospective evaluations. How...