Summary: A new study reveals that sleep-like slow-wave brain activity can persist for years in surgically disconnected brain hemispheres of awake epilepsy patients. Using EEG recordings, researchers found that the…
Category: consciousness
Can Animals Feel? A New Roadmap for Consciousness
Summary: A philosophy scholar has developed a practical “decision tree” to help scientists and ethicists evaluate which creatures may be conscious. The new framework clarifies decades of debate about whether…
Most Daily Actions Run on Habit, Not Conscious Choice
Summary: New research shows that nearly two-thirds of daily behaviors are triggered by habit rather than conscious decision-making. Participants often acted automatically in familiar settings, reflecting learned associations. Almost half…
Inside the Minds That Never Forget: Exploring Hyperthymesia
Summary: Autobiographical memory allows us to relive experiences, form identity, and project into the future. A rare few, known as hyperthymesics, can recall events from their lives with remarkable precision,…
Breathwork and Music Trigger Psychedelic-Like Bliss in the Brain
Summary: New research shows that practicing breathwork while listening to music can induce profound altered states of consciousness similar to those caused by psychedelics. Using self-reports and brain imaging, scientists…
What Are Thoughts? Exploring the Mystery of the Mind
Summary: The nature of thought remains one of philosophy’s greatest mysteries, with deep implications for neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Two main theories compete: materialism, which sees thoughts as brain states,…
How Altered States of Consciousness Change Time Perception
Summary: Time perception varies depending on context, often slowing in emergencies or unfamiliar settings and speeding up during absorption or as we age. Time expansion experiences (Tees) occur when seconds…
How Conscious Thought Fades Under Anesthesia
Summary: A new study has shown that conscious thought relies on synchronized brain rhythms to maintain communication between sensory and cognitive brain regions. Under general anesthesia, this rhythm-based communication breaks…
Mindfulness Can Induce Altered States of Consciousness
Summary: Mindfulness training can lead to altered states of consciousness, such as disembodiment and unity. Researchers found that participants were twice as likely to experience these states compared to a…
Beyond Consciousness: How Meditators Voluntarily Enter Void States
Summary: Experienced meditators can voluntarily induce unconscious states, known as cessations, without the use of drugs. This ability, observed in Tibetan Buddhist practice, allows meditators to experience a momentary void…
