Studies seek signs of consciousness before birth.
Science March 14, 2025 Kelly Servick
Fetal and infant brains offer clues to when human experience begins.
Philosophy of mind: all studies
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Research
Why the Brain Cannot Be a Digital Computer: History-Dependence and the Computational Limits of Consciousness
arXiv.org March 13, 2025 Andrew Knight preprint
This paper presents a novel information-theoretic proof demonstrating that the human brain as currently understood cannot function as a classical digital computer. Through systematic quantification of distinguishable conscious states and their historical dependencies, we establish that the minimum information required to specify a conscious state exceeds the physical information capacity of the...
Light Sleeper, Heavy Dreamer: A Neuroscientific Perspective of Lucid Dreaming
Theoretical and Natural Science March 13, 2025 Boyu Pan
Lucid dreaming, the experience of being aware of dreaming in the dream, offers a unique window for neuroscientific research. In the last 50 years, the study of lucid dreaming has developed rapidly due to the advances in neuroscience, especially polysomnography and fMRI. This review highlights the neuroscientific basis of lucid dreaming about distinct neural features, varying from brain...
The Gateway Experience Facilitates Psychological Well-Being.
Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science March 13, 2025 Priscilla Fabrizi, Thomas Ditye
This study investigates the effects of the Gateway Experience (GE) on psychological well-being. The GE has been developed several decades ago for the induction of altered states of consciousness. It incorporates several techniques such as hypnosis, meditation, and binaural beats, which are known to facilitate well-being, sleep, learning and memory, and emotional states, but have not been tested...
DOI: 10.1007/s12124-025-09901-y (opens in new tab)
Full text (opens in new tab)
Meditation
Cia
Gateway experience
Gateway programme
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Where is my mind? A neurocognitive investigation of mind blanking.
Trends in Cognitive Sciences March 12, 2025 Thomas Andrillon, Antoine Lutz, Jennifer Windt et al. 14 citations
During wakefulness, our thoughts transition between different contents. However, there are moments that are seemingly devoid of reportable content, referred to as mind blanking (MB). It remains unclear what these blanks represent, highlighting the definitional and phenomenological ambiguities surrounding MB. We map out MB in terms of its reportable expressions, neurophysiology, and relationship...
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2025.02.002 (opens in new tab)
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Dreaming
Meditation
Mind blanking
Mind wandering
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Human Consciousness and the ‘Anthropological Turn’: Theological Perspectives on Evolutionary Anthropology
Religions March 11, 2025 M. Breul
Recent discussions between evolutionary and theological anthropology have intensified, particularly through the work of Michael Tomasello. As a key figure in evolutionary anthropology, Tomasello synthesizes extensive empirical research into an accessible ‘natural history’ of core human abilities. He posits that a unique human trait distinguishing us from our closest relatives is the capacity...
The multifaceted Ganzfeld at the crossroad between visual perception and consciousness
PsyArXiv March 11, 2025 Eleftheria Pistolas, Boris Quétard, Sucharit Katyal et al. preprint
A Ganzfeld is a homogeneous visual field, devoid of any focal points. Such a stimulus has been used by researchers to study perceptual phenomena in the absence of changes in sensory structure. Others have used it to study altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Until now, these different facets have been studied separately with little attention for the emotional subjective experience. This...
PSYCHEDELIC PHARMACOLOGY IN PSYCHIATRY: THE MECHANISMS AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF PSILOCYBIN, MDMA, AND LSD IN MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS
Journal of medical & health sciences review. March 11, 2025 Ahmad Daryani, Muhammad Ali, Usman Ul Haq
Psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD have recently emerged as popular psychedelic substances for use in psychopharmacology in managing various disorders including treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, and anxiety. These substances mainly affect the serotonergic receptors that involve the regulation of consciousness, perceptions, and cognition. These unique alterations in brain connectome show the...
Concepts of Space and Time in Philosophical and Mystical Teachings and in Modern Science
Voprosy Filosofii March 10, 2025 Natalia S. Zhirtueva
The article provides a comparative analysis of ideas about space and time, formed in the philosophical and mystical teachings of the world, with those that are characteristic of modern science. The non-classical scientific paradigm has created a new understanding of the spatio-temporal organization of being, which is characterized by multidimensionality and relativity. There are unique features...
DOI: 10.21146/0042-8744-2025-3-191-197 (opens in new tab)
Mysticism
Consciousness
Prayer
Space punctuation
+4
Dynamic VR Modulation with EEG Feedback for Psychedelic Simulation
2025 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops March 8, 2025 Leon Lange, Jacob Yenney, Y. C. Wu
This study explores approaches to combining real-time electroencephalographic (EEG) with VR to generate synthetic psychedelic experiences. Using a passive brain-computer interface (BCI) that dynamically adjusts virtual content, we aim to elicit neurocognitive states similar to those that characterize psychedelic trips - including attenuation of self-referential thought and diminished engagement...