Increased spontaneous EEG signal diversity during stroboscopically-induced altered states of consciousness
David J. Schwartzman, Michael Schartner, Benjamin B. Ador, Francesca Simonelli, Acer Yu-Chan Chang, Anil K. Seth
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) January 4, 2019 preprint DOI: 10.1101/511766 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study |
|---|---|
| Population | Healthy adults |
| Intervention | Stroboscopic stimulation |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Keywords | Consciousness Electroencephalography Altered state Diversity politics Minimally conscious state Stimulation Audiology Cognitive psychology |
| Citations | 31 |
| Key findings | Stroboscopic stimulation increased EEG signal diversity scores beyond those of wakeful rest, paralleling psychedelic states and supporting the link between neural signal diversity and the diversity of subjective experience. |
Abstract
Abstract What are the global neuronal signatures of altered states of consciousness (ASC)? Recently, increases in neural signal diversity, compared to those found in wakeful rest, have been reported during psychedelic states. Neural signal diversity has previously been identified as a robust signature of the state of consciousness, showing lower scores during sleep or anaesthesia compared to wakeful rest. The increased neural signal diversity during psychedelic states raises the additional possibility that it may also reflect the increased diversity of subjective experiences associated with these states. However, psychedelic states involve widespread neuropsychopharmacological changes, only some of which may be associated with altered phenomenology. Therefore, we used stroboscopic stimulation to induce non-pharmacological altered states of consciousness while measuring the diversity of EEG signals. Stroboscopic stimulation caused substantial increases in the intensity and range of subjective experiences, with reports of both simple and complex visual hallucinations. These experiences were accompanied by increases in EEG signal diversity scores (measured using Lempel-Ziv complexity) exceeding those associated with wakeful rest, in line with studies of the psychedelic state. Our findings support the proposal that EEG signal diversity reflects the diversity of subjective experience that is associated with different states of consciousness.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Standardized Psychometric Assessment of Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) in Humans Healthy subjects in six countries | 1998 | Experimental and field study | n = 1,133 |
| TMS-EEG and resting-state EEG applied to altered states of consciousness: oscillations, complexity, and phenomenology. | 2023 | Experimental study | |
| A Test of the Psychedelic Model of Altered States of Consciousness | 1976 | Experimental study with comparison groups | |
| Neural Correlates of Non-ordinary States of Consciousness in Pranayama Practitioners: The Role of Slow Nasal Breathing Experienced meditators | 2022 | Within-subjects comparison | n = 12 |
| Cannabis-induced altered states of consciousness are associated with specific dynamic brain connectivity states Healthy occasional cannabis users (smoking cannabis ≤2 per week) | 2019 | Repeated-measures, within-subjects design | n = 19 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 20
- Altered states phenomena induced by visual flicker light stimulation PLoS One July 1, 2021
- EEG Lempel-Ziv complexity varies with sleep stage, but does not seem to track dream experience. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2022
- Cyberdelics in context: On the prospects and challenges of mind-manifesting technologies. Frontiers in Psychology 2022
- Visual hallucinations induced by Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld differ in frequency, complexity, and content Scientific Reports January 29, 2024
- Lightening the mind with audiovisual stimulation as an accessible alternative to breath-focused meditation for mood and cognitive enhancement. Scientific Reports October 26, 2024
and 15 more in the library
Cites 28
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 23, 2012
- Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology December 1, 2011
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Psychometric Evaluation of the Altered States of Consciousness Rating Scale (OAV) PLoS One August 31, 2010
and 23 more in the library