Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 7, 2021
Julia C. Basso, Medha K. Satyal, Rachel Rugh
130 citations
Dance enhances both intra- and inter-brain synchrony, according to The Synchronicity Hypothesis of Dance. This hypothesis integrates findings from anthropology, sociology, psychology, dance pedagogy, and neuroscience. Dance involves seven neurobehavioral processes: sensory, motor, cognitive, social, emotional, rhythmic, and creative. The hypothesis proposes that humans dance for intrinsic reward, which, through increased neural synchrony, improves interpersonal coordination. Evidence from evolutionary theories, developmental movement patterns, and neuroimaging supports this idea. The hypothesis suggests dance may help repattern oscillatory activity, offering clinical benefits for autism spectrum disorder and other disorders with oscillatory impairments. Consciousness may be redefined as a shared experience enhanced by dancing together.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Juliana Bagdasaryan, Michel Le van Quyen
124 citations
Neurophenomenology aims to combine neuroscience with the study of conscious experience, but integrating first-person reports with brain data remains challenging. Neurofeedback, where people learn to regulate their own brain activity in real time, offers a practical way to braid together subjective experience and neural measurements. In this iterative closed-loop setup, conscious activities can directly influence neuronal patterns, illustrating downward causation. The paper discusses mechanisms that might mediate such effects and outlines future research directions.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
May 27, 2014
Vanessa Charland-Verville, Jean-Pierre Jourdan, Marie Thonnard et al.
116 citations
Near death experiences (NDEs) reported after a non-life-threatening event (NDE-like) are similar in intensity and content to those occurring after a pathological coma (real NDE). In a retrospective analysis of 190 reports meeting the Greyson NDE scale threshold (score >7/32), the most common feature was peacefulness (89-93%), and only 1% recounted a negative experience. The intensity and features did not differ between NDE-like and real NDE groups, nor among coma causes (anoxic, traumatic, other). However, the core features were more frequently reported in this retrospective anoxic cohort compared to historical prospective data, suggesting that retrospective recall may shape the experience's content.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2014
Omar Singleton, Britta K. Hölzel, Mark Vangel et al.
116 citations
Participation in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course led to increases in psychological well-being (PWB) scores, which were positively correlated with increases in gray matter concentration in two bilateral clusters in the brainstem, including the pontine tegmentum, locus coeruleus, nucleus raphe pontis, and sensory trigeminal nucleus. These brain areas are sites of norepinephrine and serotonin synthesis and release, which modulate arousal and mood. No brain regions showed a negative correlation with PWB change. This preliminary finding suggests a neural basis for enhanced well-being through mindfulness training.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Micah Allen, Jonathan Smallwood, Joanna Christensen et al.
100 citations
Mind-wandering, or task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs), is common and often impairs performance on demanding tasks, but new findings show it can also enhance metacognitive abilities. Using the Error Awareness Task (EAT), researchers found that individual differences in average TUTs strongly predicted stop accuracy, while variability in TUTs specifically predicted error awareness. Brain imaging revealed that both response inhibition and TUT ratings activated the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the default mode network (DMN), but in distinct dorsal areas, suggesting functional segregation. Co-activation of salience and default mode regions during error awareness linked monitoring to TUTs. The results suggest that fluctuations between internal and external thought, rather than constant focus, characterize individuals with greater metacognitive monitoring, and balancing these modes may optimize task performance.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Anthony P Zanesco, Brandon G King, Katherine A Maclean et al.
96 citations
One month of intensive daily Vipassana meditation training improved executive control on a 32-minute response inhibition task. Trained participants showed better accuracy and reduced reaction time variability compared to matched controls. They also reported increased concentration during the task, but not changes in effort or motivation. Higher concentration ratings predicted lower reaction time variability, linking subjective concentrative engagement with objective attentional stability. The findings support contemplative claims that meditation leads to stable, clear attentional focus and suggest that meditators accurately perceive their improved cognitive performance.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2014
Daniel D. Hutto, Michael D Kirchhoff, Erik Myin
94 citations
Rejecting mental representation as the basis of cognition, radical enactive and embodied approaches challenge mainstream cognitive science. This paper argues that abandoning representationalism for pure empirical functionalism fails to provide a clear criterion for what counts as cognitive and lacks adequate ways to distinguish cognitive activity. It also contends that commonsense functionalism is undermined by how people actually use psychological concepts. Instead, the authors advocate for extensive enactivism, which differs from extended mind and distributed cognition theories by grounding cognition in embodied action without relying on internal representations.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Claire Petitmengin, Jean-Philippe Lachaux
90 citations
Neurophenomenology aims to combine neural and experiential descriptions of cognitive processes, but faces a practical difficulty: neural measures typically have coarser functional selectivity than the micro-dynamics of brief mental events. A new approach is proposed, using human intra-cerebral EEG (iEEG) to capture neural micro-dynamics with millimetric and millisecond precision, alongside disciplined elicitation techniques for accessing experiential micro-dynamics. This lays the foundation for a microcognitive science that practically implements neurophenomenology to investigate human cognition at the subsecond level.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2012
Enrico Facco, Christian Agrillo
87 citations
Science aims to challenge dogmas, but undemonstrated scientific axioms can themselves become dogmatic when they lead to the rejection of facts that contradict them. Psychobiological explanations of near-death experiences (NDEs) often claim these are mere brain dysfunctions, yet they neglect facts incompatible with a physicalist stance. The transcendent features of NDEs demand a neutral position that distinguishes facts from speculation. Most current psychobiological interpretations remain unproven, and the delirium from brain disorders or drugs differs phenomenologically from NDEs. Facts cannot be dismissed a priori as paranormal, even if implausible; doing so risks turning knowledge into dogma and the scientific paradigm into theology.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 13, 2017
Charlotte Martial, Héléna Cassol, Georgios Antonopoulos et al.
85 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) often follow a common sequence: an out-of-body experience, moving through a tunnel, seeing a bright light, then feeling peace. However, this sequence occurred in only a small number of experiencers, suggesting that the order of NDE features varies widely among individuals. The study analyzed 154 written NDE narratives from French speakers, using text analysis to infer the timing and frequency of core features. The findings indicate that while a typical pattern exists, it is not universal, and understanding the relationships between features may improve scientific definitions of NDEs.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2012
Douglas Roberts-Wolfe, Matthew D. Sacchet, Elizabeth Hastings et al.
79 citations
A 12-week mindfulness course increased recall of positive words and improved psychological well-being in university students compared to an active control (music) course. Greater positive word recall was linked to higher well-being and lower depression and anxiety. Mindfulness training may enhance well-being by altering how emotional information is processed, though self-selection could have influenced results.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
December 22, 2016
Philipp Sterzer, Aaron Mishara, Martin Voss et al.
78 citations
Thought insertion in schizophrenia may arise from altered Bayesian inference within the predictive coding framework. Early 20th-century phenomenological accounts by the Heidelberg School described thought insertion as a self-disturbance involving disrupted inner connectedness of thoughts, which become sensory and feel inserted. Mescaline was used as a model psychosis to explore these mechanisms. The authors propose that reduced precision of context-dependent predictions, relative to sensory precision, increases prediction-error signals for internal events like thoughts. This aberrant salience, analogous to that proposed for external events, leads individuals to interpret thoughts as inserted by an alien agent, similar to delusion formation from aberrant sensory salience.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
March 22, 2021
Filippo Cieri, Xiaowei Zhuang, Jessica Caldwell et al.
62 citations
Spontaneous neural activity becomes less complex and less entropic during states of reduced consciousness, such as those induced by psychedelics, a pattern termed the 'entropic brain hypothesis.' This review extends that hypothesis to physiological and pathological aging, where brain entropy is also reduced. The authors treat the mind-brain as a complex nonlinear dynamic adaptive system governed by the free energy principle, aiming to maintain a balance between order and chaos in neural dynamics and functional connectivity. They review studies showing increased entropy in acute psychedelic states and chronic psychotic states like schizophrenia, then contrast these with aging, where entropy decreases. They propose a general trend of brain entropy across primary states and cognitive aging.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
December 8, 2014
Lisa Scocchia, Matteo Valsecchi, Jochen Triesch
61 citations
What we perceive isn't merely what our eyes see; it's a complex brain inference. This fundamental assertion in cognitive psychology highlights how the observer's state critically shapes visual perception, particularly with ambiguous stimuli. Over eight distinct factors, from individual differences and social psychology aspects like emotional content, to attention and prior learning, profoundly influence the resulting percept. These influences on categorization and cognition underscore the intricate neural dynamics and visual processing mechanisms underlying our perceived reality, a key focus in Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
October 4, 2018
Andrea Scalabrini, Clara Mucci, Georg Northoff
58 citations
A multilayered model of the self links four layers—relational alignment, self-constitution, self-manifestation, and self-expansion—to distinct neural correlates and levels of personality organization. The model proposes that psychotic, borderline, and neurotic personality organizations correspond respectively to disruptions in self-constitution, self-manifestation, and self-expansion. Grounded in empirical data on neural correlates of the self, early attachment experiences, and resting-state brain activity (rest-self overlap/containment), the model integrates psychodynamic and neuroscientific perspectives. The spontaneous activity of the brain, intrinsically related to the self, may be key to understanding how the default state navigates internal and external reality.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 12, 2015
Andrew R. Gallimore
52 citations
Classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin produce a fascinating but poorly understood state of consciousness. Modern functional neuroimaging has revealed some of their neural effects, but many phenomenological features remain unexplained. Integrated information theory (IIT), a leading mathematical theory of consciousness, can account for both the quantity and quality of conscious experience. Applying IIT to neuroimaging data on the psychedelic state yields a model that explains unconstrained cognition, altered concept structure and meaning, and expanded awareness. The model suggests that while cognitive flexibility, creativity, and imagination increase, this comes at the cost of cause-effect information and the brain's ability to organize, categorize, and differentiate conscious experience. It generates testable predictions using functional imaging, similar to studies of anesthesia and brain injury.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
March 18, 2021
Emma R. Huels, Hyoungkyu Kim, UnCheol Lee et al.
51 citations
Shamanic practitioners in trance show brain changes that overlap with but are distinct from those caused by psychedelic drugs. In 24 practitioners and 24 controls, EEG recordings during shamanic drumming revealed increased gamma power linked to visual changes, decreased low alpha and increased low beta connectivity, reduced gamma-band signal diversity tied to insightfulness, and increased criticality in beta and gamma bands correlating with complex imagery. Practitioners' altered-state scores matched or exceeded those of people on psychedelics. The findings indicate that shamanic trance and psychedelic states share some phenomenal features but produce unique neural signatures.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
June 19, 2014
Arianna Palmieri, Vincenzo Calvo, Johann Roland Kleinbub et al.
51 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) produce memories that are phenomenologically and neurally similar to memories of real events, not imagined ones. In a study of 10 people who had NDEs and 10 controls, a hypnosis-based protocol improved recall detail for all memory types. NDE memories matched real-event memories in richness, self-reference, and emotion, and differed significantly from imagined-event memories. Electroencephalography showed that real-memory recall correlated with high alpha and gamma brain rhythms, while NDE memory recall correlated with theta and delta bands—theta being a marker of episodic memory and delta linked to recollection, trance states, and transpersonal experience. The findings indicate NDE memories are stored as episodic memories of events experienced in a distinct state of consciousness.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2014
Andra Smith, Claude Messier
48 citations
A participant who can voluntarily produce sensations of her body moving outside its physical boundaries, while knowing her body is still, showed distinct brain activity patterns during these extra-corporeal experiences (ECEs) compared to motor imagery. Brain scans revealed left-sided activations in the supplementary motor area, supramarginal gyrus, posterior superior temporal gyrus (overlapping the temporoparietal junction linked to out-of-body experiences), and cerebellum, consistent with the impression of movement. Additional activity in the left middle and superior orbital frontal gyri, regions tied to action monitoring, suggests this ECE is an unusual form of kinesthetic imagery.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Patricia Bockelman, Lauren Reinerman-Jones, Shaun Gallagher
47 citations
Neurophenomenology merges objective measurements, such as EEG, with first-person reports of experience to study consciousness while retaining the statistical rigor of cognitive science. A review of a baseline study identifies three key improvements for future research: building shared mental models across interdisciplinary teams, maintaining high experimental standards for control and replicability, and refining phenomenological interviews so the interviewer actively guides the interaction with the subject. These enhancements aim to advance understanding of cognition and experience.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Berit Brogaard
46 citations
Synesthesia—a blending of the senses—can arise developmentally, after brain injury, or from psychedelic drugs. While research has linked synesthesia to atypical brain connectivity and genetic factors, the underlying trigger remains unclear. This theoretical review proposes that excessive serotonin may be a common thread. Psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD increase serotonin, inducing synesthesia. After brain injury, cell death floods nearby regions with serotonin and glutamate, potentially causing unusual sensory binding. In autism, altered serotonin function may block normal gating mechanisms, contributing to developmental synesthesia. The author concludes that elevated serotonin levels, heightening sensory brain region excitability and connectivity, could unify at least some cases across these types.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
March 17, 2017
Michael Schaefer, Georg Northoff
43 citations
The self has two facets: a conscious self generated by cortical midline structures in the brain, and an unconscious self linked to embodied cognition via somatosensory cortices. This model draws on neuroscience imaging studies and theories of embodied cognition. The article describes problems with this dual-self model and discusses possible theoretical solutions.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
István Bókkon, Birendra N. Mallick, Jack A Tuszynski
42 citations
Seeing brilliant lights during near-death experiences may arise from a surge of bioluminescent biophotons in the brain when blood flow returns after oxygen deprivation. The authors propose that reperfusion triggers an overproduction of free radicals and excited molecules, leading to a transient increase in biophoton emission within retinotopic visual areas. If this emission exceeds a threshold, the brain interprets the intrinsic photons as external light, creating the perception of brilliant lights. The article reviews experimental studies that support this concept and links the idea to phosphenes, dream-like imagery during REM sleep, and self-consciousness possibly involving low-energy quantum entanglements. It is presented as a discussion piece, not a definitive explanation.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Sérgio Mota-Rolim, Zé H. Targino, Bryan C. Souza et al.
42 citations
Dreams typically involve actions, known people, sounds, and colors, and often relate to upcoming plans or recent memories. Nightmares frequently feature anxiety, being stalked, or other unpleasant sensations. Lucid dreaming—knowing one is dreaming—was experienced at least once by 77% of a Brazilian sample of 3,427 people, but episodes were brief (under one minute for 48%) and control was rare (29%). Lucid dreaming was more common when people did not need to wake early or were under stress, conditions that increase REM sleep. These findings suggest lucid dreaming is a widespread but unstable human experience, consistent with data from other continents.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
January 1, 2008
Lars Schwabe
41 citations
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) may arise from disrupted vestibular processing in the brain. Using Bayesian modeling, the authors show that OBEs and associated illusory changes in self-location and movement can be explained as a misled inference: ambiguous signals from the vestibular otoliths in a supine position are integrated with a prior expectation for an upright body position, measured during natural head movements. This suggests that the brain's normal mechanisms for locating the self in space can be tricked by conflicting sensory and prior information. The findings point to ways to induce and study self-location and bodily self-consciousness experimentally in healthy individuals.