M.çinar Ozcan
preprint
Large scale language models exhibit extraordinary generative performance across modalities, yet most remain architecturally monolithic: a single model performing forward pass inference. In contrast, human cognition emerges from dynamic interactions among large-scale neural networks, notably the Default Mode Network (DMN), Salience Network (SN), and Central Executive Network (CEN). We present a...
Emese Kroon, Yara J Toenders, Lauren Kuhns et al.
preprint
Background. The global increase in lenient cannabis policy has been paralleled by reduced harm perception, which has been associated with cannabis use initiation and persistent use. However, it is unclear how cultural attitudes towards cannabis use might affect the brain processes underlying cannabis use. Methods. Resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) within and between the executive...
Dian Lu, Adapa Ram, Robin Carhart-Harris et al.
preprint
Abstract Large-scale functional connectivity (FC) networks are typically treated as discrete neuroanatomical entities, yet their organisation in regions where multiple systems converge remains poorly understood. Here we investigate the posterior precuneus (PCu)—a key hub of the default mode network (DMN) situated at the interface with the frontoparietal control network (FPCN)—using a...
Zoia Zaraiskaia
This narrative review examines the synergistic potential of breathwork and binaural beats in enhancing divergent thinking, a core component of creativity. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and therapeutic practices, it explores how these methods influence cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation, and neural synchronisation. Particular attention is given to mechanisms such as alpha...
Paul Dennison
preprint
Most if not all research into consciousness in neuroscience and philosophy has dealt with the consciousness we all live within from birth, which in Dennison (2019) I termed the “human default sensory consciousness”. This was to contrast this mode to a quite different form of consciousness that develops in the Buddhist practice of jhāna meditation. This little known practice implicitly requires...
Alex Jinich-Diamant
preprint
Psychedelics, contemplative practice, and fasting are physiologically unrelated interventions that nevertheless converge, across cultures and centuries, on a common experiential endpoint: the mystical state. Here I propose that this convergence reflects shared disruption of a single computational architecture, the precision-weighted predictive hierarchy, through three mechanistically distinct...
Zümrüt Duygu Sen, Nitin Sharma, Lena Vera Danyeli et al.
preprint
Along with its rapid therapeutic benefits, ketamine induces transient experience of dissociation during administration. Given the suggested association between ketamine-induced dissociation and treatment response, understanding the neural correlates of dissociation would help to elucidate its therapeutic mechanism. The posteromedial cortex (PMC) has been reported to play a vital role in the...
Noam Goldway, Taly Markovits, Naomi Fine et al.
preprint
Dissociation, an altered state of consciousness in which individuals feel detached from their body, environment, and sense of self, is a common feature of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite its significance, the neurocognitive processes underlying dissociation remain poorly understood, potentially limiting the effectiveness of PTSD diagnostics and treatment. To address this gap, we...
Tony R. Montgomery
Understanding how a simple endogenous tryptamine could occasion profound alterations in perception and self-modeling remains a key challenge for neuroscience. We advance the Birth Echo Hypothesis (BEH) : during a narrowly defined perinatal window (≈ −2 to +24 h around delivery), a convergence of hypoxic–hypercapnic stress, maximal sensory novelty, and a poly-neuromodulatory milieu...