Altered States of Consciousness are not homogenous during meditation: an fNIRS study
Proceedings 7th Scientific School Dynamics of Complex Networks and their Applications Dcna 2023 2023 DOI: 10.1109/dcna59899.2023.10290290 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Meditation Philosophy of mind |
| Key findings | Three consistent clusters were identified in fNIRS data during altered states of consciousness, with a decrease in total hemoglobin levels observed throughout the condition. |
Abstract
This study aims to distinguish different stages in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) unlabeled data recorded during altered state of consciousness. We successfully identified three consistent clusters in each session and observed common patterns among different subjects, specifically a decrease in total hemoglobin levels throughout the experienced condition, which can underlie some common mechanism engaged in the explored process. The obtained results are expected to contribute to the methodology of studying altered states of consciousness, especially on unlabeled fNIRS data.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. 6 female, 7 male human participants | 2019 | Observational cohort | n = 13 |
| Measures of entropy and complexity in altered states of consciousness Subjects during resting wakefulness, different sleep stages, and epileptic seizures | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Altered States of Consciousness and Short-Term Psychological After-Effects Induced by the First Time Ritual Use of Ayahuasca in an Urban Context in Brazil First-time ayahuasca users in Santo Daime and União do Vegetal rituals | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 28 |
| Quantifying arousal and awareness in altered states of consciousness using interpretable deep learning Healthy individuals during sleep, individuals under general anesthesia, and patients... | 2022 | Observational cohort | n = 71 |
| Subanaesthetic ketamine and altered states of consciousness in humans Human volunteers | 2018 | Observational study | n = 15 |