Increased Entropic Brain Dynamics during DeepDream-Induced Altered Perceptual Phenomenology.
Antonino Greco, Giuseppe Gallitto, Marco D'Alessandro, Clara Rastelli
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) June 30, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/e23070839 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human participants exposed to video stimuli while undergoing EEG |
| Intervention | regular video |
| Measures | EEG, entropy, complexity, undirected connectivity, functional connectivity networks |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Deepdream EEG Altered perception Deep neural networks Entropic brain dynamics Psychedelics |
| Key findings | The authors report that a DeepDream-modified video elicited higher entropy and lower complexity in frontal EEG activity, plus increased undirected connectivity and greater entropy in functional connectivity networks, compared with a regular video. They argue these patterns resemble those induced by psychedelic drugs and propose DeepDream as a tool for studying altered perceptual phenomenology. |
Abstract
In recent years, the use of psychedelic drugs to study brain dynamics has flourished due to the unique opportunity they offer to investigate the neural mechanisms of conscious perception. Unfortunately, there are many difficulties to conduct experiments on pharmacologically-induced hallucinations, especially regarding ethical and legal issues. In addition, it is difficult to isolate the neural effects of psychedelic states from other physiological effects elicited by the drug ingestion. Here, we used the DeepDream algorithm to create visual stimuli that mimic the perception of hallucinatory states. Participants were first exposed to a regular video, followed by its modified version, while recording electroencephalography (EEG). Results showed that the frontal region's activity was characterized by a higher entropy and lower complexity during the modified video, with respect to the regular one, at different time scales. Moreover, we found an increased undirected connectivity and a greater level of entropy in functional connectivity networks elicited by the modified video. These findings suggest that DeepDream and psychedelic drugs induced similar altered brain patterns and demonstrate the potential of adopting this method to study altered perceptual phenomenology in neuroimaging research.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Deep-Dream Virtual Reality Platform for Studying Altered Perceptual Phenomenology | 2017 | Experimental study | |
| New World Tryptamine Hallucinogens and the Neuroscience of Ayahuasca. | 2018 | Review with original neuroimaging and neurophysiological data | |
| Differential contributions of serotonergic and dopaminergic functional connectivity to the phenomenology of LSD Healthy adults | 2022 | Secondary analysis of experimental data | n = 15 |
| TMS-EEG and resting-state EEG applied to altered states of consciousness: oscillations, complexity, and phenomenology. | 2023 | Experimental study | |
| Training novice practitioners to reliably report their meditation experience using shared phenomenological dimensions. Novice meditation practitioners | 2019 | Neurophenomenological experiment |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Psychedelic replications in virtual reality and their potential as a therapeutic instrument: an open-label feasibility study. Frontiers in Psychiatry March 1, 2023
- A predictive coding approach to psychedelic virtual-induced hallucinations and creative cognition in aging Frontiers in Human Neuroscience July 7, 2023
- Disintegrating and Reintegrating the Self – (In)Flexible Self-Models in Depersonalisation and Psychedelic Experiences March 13, 2022
- A critical review of brain entropy as a biomarker of the psychedelic state. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews July 1, 2026
- AI-generated virtual psychedelics bridge digital and therapeutic frontiers in mental health research Nature Mental Health February 1, 2026
and 5 more in the library
Cites 18
- 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
- Neural correlates of the LSD experience revealed by multimodal neuroimaging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 11, 2016
- Homological scaffolds of brain functional networks Journal of the Royal Society, Interface October 29, 2014
- Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Journal of Neuroscience September 18, 2013
and 13 more in the library