Sensory Saturation and Cognitive Surrender: A Theoretical Framework for Altered Perceptual States in Immersive Neurogastronomic Dining
PsyArXiv Preprints July 16, 2026 preprint DOI: osf:8sepv_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Default mode network |
| Keywords | Emotional flavor profiles Flow Long satisfaction Multisensory dining Neurogastronomy Sensory saturation Theta oscillations Cognitive neuroscience Perception Cognitive psychology |
| Key points | Proposes that intentional sensory overstimulation in a neurogastronomic setting may inhibit analytical processing and reduce Default Mode Network activity, potentially shifting brain oscillatory states from alpha toward theta. |
Abstract
This paper proposes a theoretical framework for interpreting immersive neurogastronomic experiences as a form of ambient cognitive modulation. The framework originates in the direct, informal observation of approximately 6,000 guests conducted by the first author over more than six years of operation at Sensorium — an eleven-seat neurogastronomic restaurant with a controlled multisensory architecture. The recurrence of consistent behavioural and experiential patterns across this substantial case base motivated a search for a systematic neurological and psychological interpretation, developed in collaboration with the second author drawing on his clinical expertise and the Emotional Flavour Profiles framework (Kiosses, 2026). We propose that intentional, layered sensory overstimulation may selectively inhibit dominant analytical processing — in the sense described by McGilchrist's account of hemispheric functional dominance — and reduce Default Mode Network (DMN) activity, favouring a shift in brain oscillatory states from alpha toward theta. This hypothesised neurobiological shift, potentially observable within the span of a single dining session, may correspond to a subjective experience of heightened presence, reduced critical self-monitoring, and access to ordinarily unavailable inner states. We introduce a three-stage model — Saturation, Analytical Surrender, and Incorporeal Immersion — and discuss its implications for experiential design, clinical psychology, and wellbeing research.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network in cognition: a topographical perspective | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: a neurobiological account of Freudian ideas | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cooperation between the default mode network and the frontal–parietal network in the production of an internal train of thought | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |