Content-Free Awareness: EEG-fcMRI Correlates of Consciousness as Such in an Expert Meditator
Ulf Winter, Pierre Levan, Tilmann Lhündrup Borghardt, Burak Akın, Marc Wittmann, Yeshe Leyens, Stefan Schmidt
Frontiers in Psychology February 18, 2020 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03064 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | One extraordinarily qualified meditator |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Consciousness Electroencephalography Unconscious mind Task-positive network EEG-FMRI Cognitive psychology Resting State FMRI Persistent vegetative state Minimally conscious state Cognition |
| Citations | 68 |
| Key findings | Content-free awareness is characterized by decreased alpha power, increased theta power, increased DAN connectivity, and decreased posterior DMN connectivity. |
Abstract
The minimal neural correlate of the conscious state, regardless of the neural activity correlated with the ever-changing contents of experience, has still not been identified. Different attempts have been made, mainly by comparing the normal waking state to seemingly unconscious states, such as deep sleep or general anesthesia. A more direct approach would be the neuroscientific investigation of conscious states that are experienced as free of any specific phenomenal content. Here we present serendipitous data on content-free awareness (CFA) during an EEG-fMRI assessment reported by an extraordinarily qualified meditator with over 50,000 h of practice. We focused on two specific cortical networks related to external and internal awareness, i.e., the dorsal attention network (DAN) and the default mode network (DMN), to explore the neural correlates of this experience. The combination of high-resolution EEG and ultrafast fMRI enabled us to analyze the dynamic aspects of fMRI connectivity informed by EEG power analysis. The neural correlates of CFA were characterized by a sharp decrease in alpha power and an increase in theta power as well as increases in functional connectivity in the DAN and decreases in the posterior DMN. We interpret these findings as correlates of a top-down-initiated attentional state excluding external sensory stimuli and internal mentation from conscious experience. We conclude that the investigation of states of CFA could provide valuable input for new methodological and conceptual approaches in the search for the minimal neural correlate of consciousness.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotard parasomnia: le délire de negation that occur during the sleep-wake dissociation? Patients with non-REM parasomnias experiencing Cotard delusions | 2020 | Case series | n = 3 |
| Awakening as Neurophenomenology: An Empirical Case Study Based on EEG A subject off anxiolytics for over 6 years in a long-term self-regulated state | 2026 | Case study | n = 1 |
| A Newly Identified Deep-Sleep Dream Phenotype: Stable World Modeling, Persistent Spatial Maps, and Extraordinary Dream-to-Literature Creativity An individual with extraordinarily high dream recall frequency, sustained... | 2026 | Case study | n = 1 |
| A Newly Identified Deep-Sleep Dream Phenotype: An individual with extraordinarily high dream recall frequency, sustained... | 2026 | First-person qualitative case study | n = 1 |
| IC‐P‐112: Altered intrinsic functional connectivity of default mode network in a patient with posterior cortical dysfunction syndrome 56-year-old woman with Posterior Cortical Dysfunction (PCD) syndrome | 2011 | Case study | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 42
- Inner Experience - Direct Access to Reality: A Complementarist Ontology and Dual Aspect Monism Support a Broader Epistemology. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Beyond the veil of duality—topographic reorganization model of meditation Neuroscience of Consciousness 2022
- Reflections on Inner and Outer Silence and Consciousness Without Contents According to the Sphere Model of Consciousness Frontiers in Psychology August 12, 2020
- Consciousness in active inference: Deep self-models, other minds, and the challenge of psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2021
- Consciousness Without Content: A Look at Evidence and Prospects. Frontiers in Psychology August 7, 2020
and 37 more in the library
Cites 31
- Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 23, 2011
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- A systematic review of the neurophysiology of mindfulness on EEG oscillations Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 2015
- Unresponsiveness ≠ Unconsciousness Anesthesiology February 7, 2012
- The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network PLoS One February 18, 2015
and 26 more in the library