Commentary: The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August 30, 2016 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00423 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Functional neuroimaging Functional brain imaging Cognitive psychology Cognitive science |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key points | Argues that entropy may not be a unique indicator of the quality of consciousness and that psychedelic-induced brain activity may not exhibit criticality. |
Abstract
The “entropic brain hypothesis” holds that the quality of conscious states depends on the system’s \nentropy (Carhart-Harris et al., 2014). Brain activity is said to become “more random and so harder \nto predict in primary states – of which the psychedelic state is an exemplar.” Psychedelic-induced \nbrain activity would be associated with elevated entropy in some of its aspects with respect to \nnormal wakeful consciousness. This would indicate that psychedelic-induced brain activity would \nexhibit criticality, while normal wakeful consciousness would be subcritical. \nBut can entropy be a unique indicator of the “quality of consciousness?” Are there reasons to \nbelieve that psychedelic-induced activity is not critical?
Citations in the library
Cited by 14
- Neuropharmacological modulation of the aberrant bodily self through psychedelics Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 6, 2019
- Characterizing Complex Networks Using Entropy-Degree Diagrams: Unveiling Changes in Functional Brain Connectivity Induced by Ayahuasca Entropy January 30, 2019
- EEG Signal Diversity Varies With Sleep Stage and Aspects of Dream Experience Frontiers in Psychology April 23, 2021
- How Psychedelic-Assisted Treatment Works in the Bayesian Brain Frontiers in Psychiatry March 8, 2022
- Application of machine learning and complex network measures to an EEG dataset from ayahuasca experiments PLoS One December 16, 2022
and 9 more in the library
Cites 3
- 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
- Increased Global Functional Connectivity Correlates with LSD-Induced Ego Dissolution. Current Biology April 13, 2016