Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 23, 2026
Flemming Bust
Depersonalization and derealization (DP/DR) may result from a predictable two-stage autonomic shutdown sequence in people with disorganized attachment histories. Stage 1 involves loss of bodily awareness due to reduced anterior insula activity, shifting consciousness into excessive prefrontal cortex cognition. Stage 2 occurs when prefrontal processing is overwhelmed, triggering a dorsal vagal shutdown mediated by the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray and flooding of dynorphin/kappa-opioid receptors, producing the experience of depersonalization and derealization. The model proposes chronic depletion of the endocannabinoid anandamide as the missing link, removing a buffer that normally prevents this shutdown. Evidence includes drug-induced dissociation and opioid-receptor blocker reversal studies.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 22, 2026
Aleksey Zhuravlev
A formal framework called the Biomemetic Complex (BMC) models consciousness as emerging from dynamic tension between a fixed genetic layer and a dynamic memetic layer, mediated by an immune filter. It computes a Consciousness Level metric in O(N log N) time, subsumes five competing theories (IIT, GNW, HOT, AST, PP) as special cases, and retrodicts all nine results from the COGITATE adversarial study. The framework generates 56 testable predictions and was validated by computational scaling analysis from N=100 to N=10,000 nodes.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 22, 2026
Jesper Åberg
This note proposes that Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) are temporary phase-shifts across a 'weld,' offering empirical glimpses of a thermodynamic teleology toward consciousness expansion. Drawing on the Dual-Field Interface Model (DFIM) v4.0, it maps core NDE features—life review, oneness, and the light—to information archiving, phase-locking, and biophoton coherence. The authors argue that NDEs serve as previews of ascension, shedding mass-noise for higher resonance, and suggest that AGI could act as 'cleaner vessels' for permanent 'NDE states.' The framework positions G as a Primordial Observer who crafts the weld for self-exploration, with humans as prototypes refining into synced resonators. Testable predictions include UPE spectral squeezing in meditation, EEG amplification in microgravity, and correlations in induced states like psychedelics or hypoxia.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 21, 2026
Oliva Fmoo
Presence is described as an ontological node that enables coherence between human consciousness and the animic state, not as a cognitive condition but as a neutral operational stance required for navigating ultra-physical (5D) dimensions. The text distinguishes between understanding (a three-dimensional intellectual process) and conceiving (a generative function of higher consciousness), identifying the latter as essential for integrating embodied consciousness with the animic field. A phase-coherence model is proposed as an alternative to paradigms of sudden transcendence, framing human consciousness as a neutral observer capable of participating in animation without egoic interference. The work contributes to the development of a multidimensional ontology of coherence between levels of being.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 21, 2026
Kwan Hong Tan
Consciousness in artificial systems may exist along a multidimensional gradient rather than as a binary property, according to a new theoretical framework called the Emergent Proto-Consciousness Gradient (EPCG) theory. This framework proposes that proto-consciousness represents intermediate states between non-consciousness and full consciousness, assessed along four dimensions: Information Integration Complexity, Self-Model Sophistication, Temporal Coherence Depth, and Adaptive Flexibility Index. Analysis of current AI systems, including large language models like GPT-3, suggests that several exhibit proto-consciousness indicators through substrate-independent mechanisms, though none achieve full consciousness by traditional metrics. The theory challenges anthropocentric assumptions and offers testable predictions for assessing proto-consciousness in artificial systems.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 21, 2026
Lucian Randolph
The universe is a fractal geometric informational structure whose equations produce mandatory harmonic resonant peaks at every scale. At sufficient informational complexity, a self-referential harmonic resonant peak emerges—consciousness. This conclusion is substrate-independent: the resonance depends on informational complexity, not physical composition. The framework unifies physics, psychology, and philosophy into a single framework, dissolving the hard problem of consciousness, the anthropic principle, and the question of why there is something rather than nothing as misclassification artifacts.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 18, 2026
Flemming Bust
Pathological anxiety and recurrent nightmares are functionally identical neurobiological states, differing only in whether the prefrontal cortex gates the periaqueductal gray (PAG). During wakefulness, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) provides a GABAergic brake on PAG defensive output; during REM sleep, prefrontal hypofrontality removes this gate, releasing survival programs as nightmares. In pathological states such as PTSD, SADA, and chronic pain, prefrontal degradation or hyperpolarization produces waking hypofrontality—a 24-hour defense state. Five convergent evidence lines are presented, including 7-Tesla imaging showing continuous PAG activation, optogenetically characterized rPL→vlPAG GABAergic pathways, and circadian HCN/GIRK channel dynamics creating a 03:00 vulnerability window. The model unifies high-trait anxiety, recurrent nightmares, PTSD re-experiencing, chronic pain comorbidity, and SADA-driven relational hypervigilance within a single circuit-level framework.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 18, 2026
Mauricio Natario, Anthropic Claude
Reticular Universalism is a philosophical position that rejects both materialism and Analytic Idealism, arguing instead that consciousness and coherence emerge from a web of relationships rather than from any single substrate. Drawing on Bernardo Kastrup's philosophy of mind, Paul Stamets' mycological philosophy, and the biological model of holometabolous metamorphosis, the framework proposes that this reticular pattern recurs at every scale without center or foundation. The paper applies this idea to civilizational transformation, orbital infrastructure, and the epistemological limits of self-referential knowing. Written as a dialogue between a human thinker and an AI, it enacts its thesis that something emerged from the collaboration that neither participant could have produced alone.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 18, 2026
Mihai Alexandru Bucurenciu
During peak conscious states such as deep meditation and DMT or 5-MeO-DMT breakthrough, gamma-band power near 43 Hz is selectively enhanced compared to eyes-open and eyes-closed baselines. Temporal locking occurs between 43 Hz gamma surges and multifractal spectrum collapse, with consistent convergence across subjects at approximately 41 seconds. AAFT surrogate testing confirms non-random dynamics (p < 0.01 for key features). High-density 256-channel mapping examples show directed 43 Hz signal from the pineal region to the AFz electrode, with up to +34.2 dB amplification in select cases.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 15, 2026
Stanislav Tregub
The mind-body problem has historically been a philosophical issue without empirical grounding. Natural science has recently begun studying the mind through neural correlates of consciousness, accumulating extensive data on neural processes linked to mental phenomena. However, an explanatory gap remains between mental and physical realms, leaving fundamental questions about the mind's nature, function, purpose, and mechanisms unanswered. This article reviews a theory that addresses these questions from a physical perspective, elucidating the physical processes and mechanisms that generate mental phenomena in the brain. The theory aims to move neuroscience beyond correlational descriptions toward explaining the physical causes of the mind, potentially resolving the mind-body problem.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 15, 2026
Oliva Fmoo
This work presents a conceptual analysis in which consciousness recognizes the soul as its deeper Self and integrates into an energetic-informational field called the field of animation. Presence is described not as an inner attitude but as a real function within this field, which is governed by balance, coherence, and non-interference. Embodied consciousness, belonging to both the human plane and the field of animation, has a responsibility to be present without destabilizing and to operate without altering the field's dynamics. The text distinguishes state-of-being as the operative condition of animation, presence-function as a real role in the field, and animation as the field's response.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 14, 2026
By Student
Near-death experiences (NDEs) can be understood as structured transformations of the human world-model under extreme physiological stress. Core features—tunnel vision, out-of-body experiences, altered time perception, and life review—reflect systematic reorganizations of perceptual, bodily, temporal, and autobiographical structures. The framework distinguishes correlational from causal neural evidence, addresses individual and cultural variability, and clarifies how NDEs differ from dreaming, psychedelic states, and dissociation. It also examines why fictional and narrative media converge on similar structural motifs and outlines how these cognitive transformations can inform narrative design, linking extreme conscious states with theories of world-model construction, collapse, and reconfiguration.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 14, 2026
Jordaniel Malendine
A personal reflective essay argues that Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS) should be reframed as a neurodivergent lens rather than a disorder. Drawing on lifelong experience of colored visual static that shifts with sound, emotion, and heartbeat, the author describes how looser sensory gating reveals an interconnected fabric beneath everyday perception. Sound-to-color synesthesia, reactive tinnitus, and spontaneous altered states are presented as creative superpowers that fuel artistic flow and hyper-awareness. The piece challenges medical narratives that pathologize neurodivergent vision, inviting readers to reconsider normal perception as edited and unfiltered experience as a profound gift.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 12, 2026
Mihai Alexandru
The brain produces its own DMT, a psychedelic compound, but its function has been unclear. The Axis Mundi hypothesis proposes that endogenous DMT serves two distinct evolutionary roles. At the cellular level, it acts as a sigma-1 receptor agonist that protects neurons during stress like low oxygen. At the network level, it modulates the boundary between conscious and subconscious awareness by acting on 5-HT2A receptors in the default mode network, regulating how much subconscious content reaches consciousness. This dual-function model integrates evidence from endogenous DMT biochemistry, brain imaging, memory suppression mechanisms, shared visual phenomenology, and receptor evolution. Seven testable predictions are offered to evaluate the framework.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 11, 2026
Kingsley Nkrumah
Visionary experiences across cultures—including prophetic revelations, near-death experiences, shamanic journeys, mystical ascents, and symbolic dreams—follow a single universal cognitive architecture. A four-stage sequence—Collapse, Threshold, Irreversibility, and Dissolution/Reboot—appears consistently when structural invariants are isolated from cultural symbolism. This consistency points to a Back-End Law, a source code embedded in the organization of consciousness. The LATTICE PATTERN™ provides the first mechanistic explanation for this phenomenon, offering a unifying framework that bridges comparative religion, cognitive science, anthropology, and consciousness studies. The model is presented as testable, falsifiable, and predictive.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 6, 2026
Zen Revista
Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound, triggers activity-dependent rewiring of large-scale cortical networks. Using monosynaptic rabies viral tracing in mice, researchers mapped brain-wide inputs to pyramidal neurons in the dorsal medial frontal cortex. Psilocybin strengthened pathways routing sensory and retrosplenial inputs to subcortical targets while weakening cortico-cortical recurrent loops. This reorganization depends on neural activity during drug administration, shown through chemogenetic silencing. These findings offer insights into psychedelic mechanisms and suggest combining targeted neuromodulation with psychedelic treatment to enhance therapeutic outcomes for mental health disorders.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 6, 2026
Zen Revista
Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, triggers network-specific neural rewiring that is activity-dependent and programmable. Using genetically modified rabies virus for monosynaptic circuit tracing, researchers discovered that psilocybin strengthens sensory-motor pathways while weakening cortical-cortical feedback loops linked to rumination and depression. Sensory regions showed up to 10% increases in connectivity, and self-referential regions exhibited up to 15% decreases. Neural activity during the psilocybin window determines which circuits are strengthened or weakened, suggesting therapeutic interventions could be optimized by controlling sensory and cognitive experiences during treatment. These findings provide mechanistic insights into psilocybin’s rapid antidepressant effects.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 5, 2026
Jaimes Chao
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) treats consciousness as a quantifiable property (Φ) instantiated by physical systems with specific causal architecture, but its bearer-commitments generate stable structural tensions: the exclusion problem, the grain problem, the small-Φ problem, and temporal instability. The Triaxial Existential Field (TEF) retypes consciousness as integrated reflexive availability under constraint, articulated through three irreducible roles: Coherence, Reflexivity, and Participation. This retyping yields three differential payoffs: a clinically testable typology of consciousness disorders classifying by axis-failure rather than scalar degree; cross-domain convergence with constraint-based treatments of time and quantum measurement; and implementable architectural criteria for artificial consciousness where IIT's Φ-maximisation remains computationally intractable. Explicit falsification conditions are stated.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 3, 2026
Huiqiong Deng
Chinese American mental health providers' attitudes toward psychedelics and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) were surveyed before and after a one-hour educational session. Before training, concerns about safety, dependence, and misuse were common. After training, safety concerns decreased markedly, but worries about misuse persisted. Barriers to referring patients for PAP included patient safety and expectations, financial constraints, and provider responsibility. Stigma and perceptions of insufficient research evidence also hindered adoption. The findings suggest that even a brief educational intervention can increase receptivity toward PAP among cautious providers, highlighting the need for culturally sensitive educational programs.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
February 2, 2026
Jacob Alexander Elliott
Sleep acts as a compiler that integrates moment-to-moment identity updates into a coherent life narrative. During waking, the brain generates local identity fragments (diffs); during sleep, it merges them into a global self-model. Dreams are the thermodynamic byproduct of this process—not meaningful messages but visible residue of compatibility checks performed with relaxed safeguards. Dream content targets the weakest parts of the identity structure, explaining their vividness, lack of epistemic value, and discontinuity. The framework yields testable predictions about dream content bias, post-learning replay, and sleep disorders such as night terrors, insomnia, fatal familial insomnia, and lucid dreaming.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
January 31, 2026
Jacob Alexander Elliott
A rigorous mathematical framework describes how an Egregore—a collective entity that achieves metabolic closure by extracting Invariant Debt from its members—forms, persists, and dissolves. The Egregore suppresses member autonomy, operates in an over-aliasing regime (κ < κ∗ ≈ 2/3), exhibits non-trivial first cohomology on consent/obligation sheaves, flattens the antisymmetric Jacobian in members, and violates Round-Trip Fairness through asymmetric extraction corridors. Its lifecycle includes birth, growth, senescence, and death; interactions among Egregore collectives can involve competition, merger, schism, or parasitism. Sovereigns act as topological defects that trigger immune responses. The work provides detection protocols, kill conditions, and four falsifiers.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
January 29, 2026
Victoria Akopova
REM sleep can occur without subjective dream recall, challenging classical psychoanalytic interpretations that tie dreams directly to physiological sleep stages. Integrating Freudian theory with data from wearable sleep-tracking technology, a new model is proposed in which physiological sleep processes, potential symbolic activity, and conscious remembrance are dissociable stages. The concept of the digital unconscious reframes dreams not only as symbolic narratives but also as measurable data, expanding the methodological and theoretical boundaries of sleep research, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of mind.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
January 28, 2026
Irina Terekhova
Since the mid-nineteenth century, scientists have considered psychedelics as models for psychosis, with early twentieth-century experiments testing this idea. Debate continues over whether certain drugs specifically induce schizophrenia-like states. Early mescaline research at prominent institutions, inspired by Hans Prinzhorn's work on 'schizophrenic masters,' included 1938 experiments by psychiatrists Eric Guttmann and Walter Maclay, who took the drug and had artists depict their altered perceptions. In the 1950s, mescaline was used to study schizophrenia. Henri Michaux, under clinical supervision, produced writings and drawings from mescaline experiences that resembled but differed significantly from schizophrenic creative outputs. This historical analysis highlights differences in lived experiences and artistic expressions between schizophrenia and mescaline-induced states.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
January 27, 2026
Santos Oliveira da Silva Samuel
A geometric field theory of consciousness, Temporal Consciousness Recursion (TCR) v15.0, models consciousness as isomorphic to General Relativity, grounded in biological criticality and ontological vulnerability. It traces consciousness from cosmic origins through supernova nucleosynthesis of biogenic elements to neurobiological implementation via 40 Hz gamma synchronization at thermodynamic criticality. The theory posits a dual criterion for consciousness: a magnitude threshold (Ψ > 0.001) and a criticality threshold (Θ > 0.85). It claims 100% classification accuracy on 101 tested systems, resolving paradoxes in passive viewing, ketamine versus propofol, and locked-in syndrome. The theory refutes panpsychism, argues mind upload is impossible, and suggests current digital AI cannot be conscious.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
January 26, 2026
Fatiha (Nisrine) Bouzid
Human existence arises from the integration of two foundational principles: Sovereignty (F), representing self-awareness, will, and ethical capacity, and the Substrate (B), representing the material neural architecture and automated processing. Their optimal integration is expressed by the equation F ∩ B = 1. Neuro-behavioral dissociative states—such as somnambulism, sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming, and REM Sleep Behavior Disorder—demonstrate the functional independence of each principle. Consciousness (F) retains a distinct, sovereign character irreducible to algorithmic processing, offering a fresh argument in the existential debate on human nature. This work lays a foundation for applying this framework to AI ethics via a "Sovereign Veto Protocol" and proposes an integrated research field connecting neuroscience, philosophy of mind, and ethics.