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Mapping of Subjective Accounts into Interpreted Clusters (MOSAIC): Topic Modelling and LLM applied to Stroboscopic Phenomenology.

Romy Beauté, David J. Schwartzman, Guillaume Dumas, Jennifer Crook, Fiona Macpherson, Adam B. Barrett, Anil K. Seth

Neuroscience of Consciousness April 7, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niag008 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 407
Population Open subjective reports from participants in the Dreamachine immersive multisensory experience
Interventions Stroboscopic light stimulation spatial sound
Topics Philosophy of mind
Citations 3
Key findings Topic modelling and large language models applied to 898 sentences from 407 open reports confirmed simple visual hallucinations typically documented in stroboscopic light stimulation research and also revealed altered states of consciousness and complex hallucinations. The authors propose that this computational approach can capture subjective experiences not readily identified through standard questionnaires.

Abstract

Abstract: Stroboscopic light stimulation (SLS) on closed eyes typically induces simple visual hallucinations, characterized by vivid, geometric, and colourful patterns. A dataset of 898 sentences, extracted from 407 open subjective reports, was recently compiled as part of the Dreamachine programme (https://dreamachine.world/) (Collective Act, 2022), an immersive multisensory experience that combines SLS and spatial sound in a collective setting. Although open reports extend the range of reportable phenomenology, their analysis presents significant challenges, particularly in systematically identifying patterns. To address this challenge, we implemented a data-driven approach leveraging large language models and topic modelling to uncover and interpret latent experiential topics directly from the Dreamachine’s text-based reports. Our analysis confirmed the presence of simple visual hallucinations typically documented in scientific studies of SLS, while also revealing experiences of altered states of consciousness and complex hallucinations. Building on these findings, our computational approach expands the systematic study of subjective experience by enabling data-driven analyses of open-ended phenomenological reports, capturing experiences not readily identified through standard questionnaires. By revealing rich and multifaceted aspects of experiences, our study broadens our understanding of stroboscopically induced phenomena while highlighting the potential of natural language processing and large language models in the field of computational phenomenology. More generally, this approach provides a practically applicable methodology for uncovering subtle hidden patterns of subjective experience across diverse research domains. Open-source implementation and an interactive web application are provided to facilitate application of this methodology.

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Citations in the library

Cited by 4

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Philosophy of mind Altered states of consciousness