bioRxiv
April 21, 2026
A. Liardi, Daniel Bor, Fernando E. Rosas et al.
preprint
Recent advances have shown that the complexity of neural signals tracks global states of consciousness, such as wakefulness versus sleep. However, it is still unclear to what extent neural complexity reflects fine-grained changes in conscious content within the same global state. Here, we investigate how the complexity of brain signals is affected by increased perceptual clarity of a stimulus....
bioRxiv
April 13, 2026
Anders S. Olsen, Kristian Larsen, Drummond E. Mcculloch et al.
Abstract Psilocybin and other serotonergic drugs acutely alter human brain function and large-scale connectivity as measured with BOLD fMRI, but whether these effects are frequency-specific remains unknown. We applied multitaper spectral and cross-spectral analyses to resting-state fMRI data from 28 healthy volunteers scanned multiple times acutely following oral psilocybin administration (0.2...
bioRxiv
March 27, 2026
Cécile Gal, Dimitrios Askitis, Katarina Begus
preprint
Self-reflection is central to human cognition and is arguably a defining feature of human consciousness. Yet, the mechanisms enabling our mind to reflect upon itself and to construct a conceptual sense of self remain poorly understood. This study brings empirical traction to the puzzle of self-reflection by studying human infants, across the period when a conceptual self is believed to emerge,...
bioRxiv
March 17, 2026
From default to creativity: prefrontal and cerebellar contributions of the default mode network to goal-directed remote thinking
bioRxiv
March 13, 2026
Brian Lord, Erica N. Lord, Jessica N. Schachtner et al.
preprint
Systematic focus training is increasingly recognized for its therapeutic benefits, with equanimity, the ability to maintain an open and accepting attitude towards all experience, identified as a critical mechanism for improving well-being. Physiologically, experienced meditators demonstrate reduced activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a hub of the default mode network (DMN), and...
bioRxiv
March 11, 2026
Abhishek Pillai, Oleksandr Bezrukavyi, Shaija Nalinakshan
preprint
Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) is a structured breathing-based meditation associated with improvements in stress regulation and mental health, yet its acute neurophysiological effects remain incompletely characterized using multivariate, subject-independent approaches. In this study, we investigated short-term pre–post neural modulation induced by a single long SKY session using...
bioRxiv
February 25, 2026
preprint
Brain network modeling with The Virtual Brain derives pharmacodynamics of ketamine
bioRxiv
February 15, 2026
Robust individual alignment of color qualia structures: toward a structure-based taxonomy of divergent color experiences
bioRxiv
January 24, 2026
Karen J. Tian, Brian Maniscalco, Michael L. Epstein et al.
preprint
Visual experience can sometimes depart from visual performance, providing a powerful lens into the mechanisms generating conscious perception. In one proposed dissociation—subjective inflation—unattended locations in the periphery appear stronger than attended ones despite equated performance. Subjective inflation has played a central role in motivating theories of consciousness that reject the...
bioRxiv
December 29, 2025
Meditation as a Bioactive Intervention: Molecular and Neurophysiological Mechanisms Revealed by Connectivity Mapping
bioRxiv
November 26, 2025
Rui Dai, Rodrigo Cofré, Christopher Timmermann et al.
preprint
The mechanism of psychedelic drug action is a dynamic area of neuroscience, with two major lines of investigation: (1) laboratory studies at the molecular and cellular level, and (2) human neuroimaging studies of functional brain networks. Despite considerable progress, there remains insufficient understanding of the link between molecular/cellular substrates of psychedelics and the whole-brain...
bioRxiv
November 24, 2025
preprint
Dynamic methylation changes in Alzheimer’s disease-related genes during mindfulness practice – a proof-of-concept study
bioRxiv
November 17, 2025
Lena Hehemann, Lisa Stetza, Christoph Kayser
preprint
Respiration is a unique physiological process that can operate automatically but can also be deliberately used to modulate the bodily state. Importantly, respiration is deeply intertwined with neural processes, influencing processes from arousal and attention to executive control. Although structured respiration (breathing practice) has been exploited for centuries, the immediate consequences...
bioRxiv
November 11, 2025
preprint
Abstract Background Integrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts gradual consciousness changes, while Global Workspace Theory (GWT) emphasizes discrete threshold events. We tested whether sleep stage transitions exhibit these distinct patterns using quantitative EEG analysis. Methods We analyzed 622 sleep stage transitions from 12 healthy adults (Wake→N1, N1→N2, N2→N3, REM→Wake) using the...
bioRxiv
September 25, 2025
Jakub Vohryzek, Edmundo Lopez-Sola, Winson F.z. Yang et al.
preprint
Advanced meditation offers a powerful lens for investigating consciousness and for understanding how sustained training may contribute to human flourishing. In the spirit of neurophenomenology, we combine first-person reports with model-free empirical analyses and formal whole-brain modeling to investigate the mechanisms underlying advanced meditative states and minimal phenomenal experience...
bioRxiv
September 19, 2025
Hengda He, B. G. Yazdi, Amir Sedaghat et al.
preprint
While the hemodynamic response function (HRF) of the positive blood oxygenated level dependent (BOLD) signal is well characterized in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) field, studies investigating the shape and properties of the negative BOLD HRF, often observed in the default mode network (DMN) regions, are rare. In this study, we first investigated the linearity of the...
bioRxiv
August 24, 2025
Yinan Xu, C. Prat, Florian Sense et al.
preprint
Despite the importance of memories in everyday life and the progress made in understanding how they are encoded and retrieved, the neural processes by which declarative memories are maintained or forgotten remain elusive. Part of the problem is that it is empirically difficult to measure the rate at which memories fade, even between repeated presentations of the source of the memory. Without...
bioRxiv
July 31, 2025
N. Goldway, T. Hendler, I. Jalon et al.
preprint
Ketamine, a psychoactive medication, exerts both analgesic and dissociative effects. However, whether its analgesic effect stems from its dissociative properties is a topic of debate. Our study aimed to determine whether ketamine’s analgesic and dissociative effects are supported by distinct neural mechanisms. In a within-subject, placebo-controlled study, 37 healthy volunteers were...
bioRxiv
July 22, 2025
Alice Caulfield, Lorraine Li, Famia Askari et al.
preprint
Introduction: Psychedelics are emerging as potential treatments for neuropsychiatric conditions, with evidence suggesting a single administration can lead to enduring behavioural changes. While the underlying putative mechanism(s) remain unclear, there is evidence supporting altered learning as a key candidate. Aim: This systematic review examined studies assessing the effects of psychedelics...
bioRxiv
July 7, 2025
Vasil Kolev, Kosio Beshkov, Peter Malinowski et al.
1 citation
preprint
The objective of the present study was to characterize the effects of long-term meditation (LTM) on directed connectivity patterns during resting-state and meditative brain states. Specifically, it was aimed to identify major cortical sources of information flow and target regions of information influx, and to reveal which frequency-specific oscillatory networks are critically involved in...
bioRxiv
June 14, 2025
preprint
Changes in DNA methylation after trauma processing and meditation in a large group setting of 1.6 years duration (Timeless Wisdom Training)
bioRxiv
May 21, 2025
preprint
The Neural Architecture of Dream Recall Frequency: Insights from Interindividual Variations in Brain Structure and Function
bioRxiv
April 21, 2025
Joanna Kuć, Rosalind McAlpine, Amelia Sellers et al.
preprint
Abstract 5-MeO-DMT, a potent, short-acting psychedelic, induces profound shifts in cognition, affect, and self-awareness. Because language explicitly expresses these domains and voice implicitly conveys them, both may serve as potential ‘biomarkers’ of behavioural change. This study introduces a novel framework for analysing baseline language and vocal features, pre- to post-psychedelic...
bioRxiv
April 7, 2025
preprint
Identifying the neural correlates of consciousness remains a major challenge in neuroscience, requiring theories that bridge between subjective experience and measurable neural correlates. However, theoretical interpretation of empirical evidence is often post hoc and susceptible to confirmation bias. Building upon the adversarial collaboration mediated by the COGITATE Consortium, we present a...
bioRxiv
March 24, 2025
Kenneth Shinozuka, Mattia Rosso, Clayton R. Coleman et al.
3 citations
preprint
Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other psychedelic substances profoundly alter human consciousness. While several studies have demonstrated changes in brain function and connectivity associated with psychedelics, we still have a limited understanding of how LSD reshapes brain networks operating across different frequency bands. In this study, we applied the recently developed...