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Ganesan S, Yang WFZ, Chowdhury A, Zalesky A, Sacchet MD. Within-subject reliability of brain networks during advanced meditation: An intensively sampled 7 Tesla MRI case study. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26666. [PMID: 38726831 PMCID: PMC11082832 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Advanced meditation such as jhana meditation can produce various altered states of consciousness (jhanas) and cultivate rewarding psychological qualities including joy, peace, compassion, and attentional stability. Mapping the neurobiological substrates of jhana meditation can inform the development and application of advanced meditation to enhance well-being. Only two prior studies have attempted to investigate the neural correlates of jhana meditation, and the rarity of adept practitioners has largely restricted the size and extent of these studies. Therefore, examining the consistency and reliability of observed brain responses associated with jhana meditation can be valuable. In this study, we aimed to characterize functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reliability within a single subject over repeated runs in canonical brain networks during jhana meditation performed by an adept practitioner over 5 days (27 fMRI runs) inside an ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI scanner. We found that thalamus and several cortical networks, that is, the somatomotor, limbic, default-mode, control, and temporo-parietal, demonstrated good within-subject reliability across all jhanas. Additionally, we found that several other relevant brain networks (e.g., attention, salience) showed noticeable increases in reliability when fMRI measurements were adjusted for variability in self-reported phenomenology related to jhana meditation. Overall, we present a preliminary template of reliable brain areas likely underpinning core neurocognitive elements of jhana meditation, and highlight the utility of neurophenomenological experimental designs for better characterizing neuronal variability associated with advanced meditative states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saampras Ganesan
- Department of PsychiatryMelbourne Neuropsychiatry CentreCarltonVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of MelbourneCarltonVictoriaAustralia
- Contemplative Studies Centre, Melbourne School of Psychological SciencesThe University of MelbourneMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Winson F. Z. Yang
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Avijit Chowdhury
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Andrew Zalesky
- Department of PsychiatryMelbourne Neuropsychiatry CentreCarltonVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringThe University of MelbourneCarltonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Matthew D. Sacchet
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
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Troncoso A, Blanco K, Rivera-Rei Á, Martínez-Pernía D. Empathy bodyssence: temporal dynamics of sensorimotor and physiological responses and the subjective experience in synchrony with the other's suffering. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1362064. [PMID: 38577111 PMCID: PMC10994162 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1362064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Empathy is foundational in our intersubjective interactions, connecting with others across bodily, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Previous evidence suggests that observing individuals in painful situations elicits whole bodily responses, unveiling the interdependence of the body and empathy. Although the role of the body has been extensively described, the temporal structure of bodily responses and its association with the comprehension of subjective experiences remain unclear. Objective Building upon the enactive approach, our study introduces and examines "bodyssence," a neologism formed from "body" and "essence." Our primary goal is to analyze the temporal dynamics, physiological, and phenomenological elements in synchrony with the experiences of sportspersons suffering physical accidents. Methods Using the empirical 5E approach, a refinement of Varela's neurophenomenological program, we integrated both objective third-person measurements (postural sway, electrodermal response, and heart rate) and first-person descriptions (phenomenological data). Thirty-five participants watched videos of sportspersons experiencing physical accidents during extreme sports practice, as well as neutral videos, while standing on a force platform and wearing electrodermal and heart electrodes. Subsequently, micro-phenomenological interviews were conducted. Results Bodyssence is composed of three distinct temporal dynamics. Forefeel marks the commencement phase, encapsulating the body's pre-reflective consciousness as participants anticipate impending physical accidents involving extreme sportspersons, manifested through minimal postural movement and high heart rate. Fullfeel, capturing the zenith of empathetic engagement, is defined by profound negative emotions, and significant bodily and kinesthetic sensations, with this stage notably featuring an increase in postural movement alongside a reduction in heart rate. In the Reliefeel phase, participants report a decrease in emotional intensity, feeling a sense of relief, as their postural control starts to reach a state of equilibrium, and heart rate remaining low. Throughout these phases, the level of electrodermal activity consistently remains high. Conclusion This study through an enactive approach elucidates the temporal attunement of bodily experience to the pain experienced by others. The integration of both first and third-person perspectives through an empirical 5E approach reveals the intricate nature of bodyssence, offering an innovative approach to understanding the dynamic nature of empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Troncoso
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Kevin Blanco
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Álvaro Rivera-Rei
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - David Martínez-Pernía
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
- Geroscience Center for Health and Brain Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile
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Yang WFZ, Chowdhury A, Bianciardi M, van Lutterveld R, Sparby T, Sacchet MD. Intensive whole-brain 7T MRI case study of volitional control of brain activity in deep absorptive meditation states. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad408. [PMID: 37943791 PMCID: PMC10793575 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Jhanas are profound states of mind achieved through advanced meditation, offering valuable insights into the nature of consciousness and tools to enhance well-being. Yet, its neurophenomenology remains limited due to methodological difficulties and the rarity of advanced meditation practitioners. We conducted a highly exploratory study to investigate the neurophenomenology of jhanas in an intensively sampled adept meditator case study (4 hr 7T fMRI collected in 27 sessions) who performed jhana meditation and rated specific aspects of experience immediately thereafter. Linear mixed models and correlations were used to examine relations among brain activity and jhana phenomenology. We identified distinctive patterns of brain activity in specific cortical, subcortical, brainstem, and cerebellar regions associated with jhana. Furthermore, we observed correlations between brain activity and phenomenological qualities of attention, jhanic qualities, and narrative processing, highlighting the distinct nature of jhanas compared to non-meditative states. Our study presents the most rigorous evidence yet that jhana practice deconstructs consciousness, offering unique insights into consciousness and significant implications for mental health and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Winson Fu Zun Yang
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Avijit Chowdhury
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Marta Bianciardi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Remko van Lutterveld
- Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, CX Utrecht 3584, the Netherlands
- Brain Research & Innovation Centre, Ministry of Defence, AA Utrecht 3509, the Netherlands
| | - Terje Sparby
- Steiner University College, Oslo 0260, Norway
- Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Witten 58448, Germany
- Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Psychology, Witten/Herdecke University, 58448 Witten, Germany
| | - Matthew D Sacchet
- Meditation Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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Troncoso A, Soto V, Gomila A, Martínez-Pernía D. Moving beyond the lab: investigating empathy through the Empirical 5E approach. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1119469. [PMID: 37519389 PMCID: PMC10374225 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1119469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Empathy is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that plays a crucial role in human social interactions. Recent developments in social neuroscience have provided valuable insights into the neural underpinnings and bodily mechanisms underlying empathy. This methodology often prioritizes precision, replicability, internal validity, and confound control. However, fully understanding the complexity of empathy seems unattainable by solely relying on artificial and controlled laboratory settings, while overlooking a comprehensive view of empathy through an ecological experimental approach. In this article, we propose articulating an integrative theoretical and methodological framework based on the 5E approach (the "E"s stand for embodied, embedded, enacted, emotional, and extended perspectives of empathy), highlighting the relevance of studying empathy as an active interaction between embodied agents, embedded in a shared real-world environment. In addition, we illustrate how a novel multimodal approach including mobile brain and body imaging (MoBi) combined with phenomenological methods, and the implementation of interactive paradigms in a natural context, are adequate procedures to study empathy from the 5E approach. In doing so, we present the Empirical 5E approach (E5E) as an integrative scientific framework to bridge brain/body and phenomenological attributes in an interbody interactive setting. Progressing toward an E5E approach can be crucial to understanding empathy in accordance with the complexity of how it is experienced in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Troncoso
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Vicente Soto
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Antoni Gomila
- Department of Psychology, University of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - David Martínez-Pernía
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Adolfo Ibáñez University, Santiago, Chile
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Martínez-Pernía D, Cea I, Troncoso A, Blanco K, Calderón Vergara J, Baquedano C, Araya-Veliz C, Useros-Olmo A, Huepe D, Carrera V, Mack Silva V, Vergara M. "I am feeling tension in my whole body": An experimental phenomenological study of empathy for pain. Front Psychol 2023; 13:999227. [PMID: 36687843 PMCID: PMC9845790 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.999227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Traditionally, empathy has been studied from two main perspectives: the theory-theory approach and the simulation theory approach. These theories claim that social emotions are fundamentally constituted by mind states in the brain. In contrast, classical phenomenology and recent research based on the enactive theories consider empathy as the basic process of contacting others' emotional experiences through direct bodily perception and sensation. Objective This study aims to enrich the knowledge of the empathic experience of pain using an experimental phenomenological method. Materials and methods Implementing an experimental paradigm used in affective neuroscience, we exposed 28 healthy adults to a video of sportspersons suffering physical accidents while practicing extreme sports. Immediately after watching the video, each participant underwent a phenomenological interview to gather data on embodied, multi-layered dimensions (bodily sensations, emotions, and motivations) and temporal aspects of empathic experience. We also performed quantitative analyses of the phenomenological categories. Results Experiential access to the other person's painful experience involves four main themes. Bodily resonance: participants felt a multiplicity of bodily, affective, and kinesthetic sensations in coordination with the sportsperson's bodily actions. Attentional focus: some participants centered their attention more on their own personal discomfort and sensations of rejection, while others on the pain and suffering experienced by the sportspersons. Kinesthetic motivation: some participants experienced the feeling in their bodies to avoid or escape from watching the video, while others experienced the need to help the sportspersons avoid suffering any injury while practicing extreme sports. The temporality of experience: participants witnessed temporal fluctuations in their experiences, bringing intensity changes in their bodily resonance, attentional focus, and kinesthetic motivation. Finally, two experiential structures were found: one structure is self-centered empathic experience, characterized by bodily resonance, attentional focus centered on the participant's own experience of seeing the sportsperson suffering, and self-protective kinesthetic motivation; the other structure is other-centered empathic experience, characterized by bodily resonance, attentional focus centered on the sportsperson, and prosocial kinesthetic motivation to help them. Discussion We show how phenomenological data may contribute to comprehending empathy for pain in social neuroscience. In addition, we address the phenomenological aspect of the enactive approach to the three dimensions of an embodiment of human consciousness, especially the intersubjective dimension. Also, based on our results, we suggest an extension of the enactive theory of non-interactive social experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Martínez-Pernía
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Faculty of Medicine, Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile,Faculty of Medicine, Memory and Neuropsychiatric Clinic (CMYN), Neurology Service, Hospital del Salvador, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile,*Correspondence: David Martínez-Pernía,
| | - Ignacio Cea
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Philosophy Department, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alejandro Troncoso
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Kevin Blanco
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Jorge Calderón Vergara
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Constanza Baquedano
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Ana Useros-Olmo
- Unidad de Daño Cerebral, Hospital Beata María Ana, Madrid, Spain,Departamento de Fisioterapia and Motion in Brains Research Group, Institute of Neuroscience and Sciences of the Movement (INCIMOV), Centro Superior de Estudios Universitarios La Salle, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Huepe
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Valentina Carrera
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Victoria Mack Silva
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Mayte Vergara
- School of Psychology, Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
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Sopcak P. Understanding mixed and ambiguous emotions - integrating neurophenomenology and literary studies. Cogn Neurosci 2023; 14:73-74. [PMID: 36847365 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2023.2181323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
This commentary makes three suggestions on Willems' neurocognitive model for understanding mixed and ambiguous emotions and morality. First, it proposes that his atheoretical approach risks unwittingly adopting theoretical and conceptual limitations implicit in reigning paradigms and overlooking the need for theoretical impetus and constraints in the development of valid constructs of targeted emotions. Second, it suggests that a dynamical systems approach to emotions provides a fruitful theory and neuro-phenomenology as a corresponding methodology. Lastly, it proposes that Willems' objective would benefit from a more systematic integration of insights from the humanities into the nature and nuances of literary (moral) emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Sopcak
- Department of English and American Studies, RWTH Aachen University, Aache, Germany
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Timmermann C, Watts R, Dupuis D. Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. Transcult Psychiatry 2022; 59:691-704. [PMID: 35313754 PMCID: PMC9660279 DOI: 10.1177/13634615221082796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may drive important therapeutic benefits, they also raise important considerations regarding the validation and mediation of knowledge gained during these experiences. Specifically, the ability of psychedelics to induce noetic feelings of revelation may enhance the significance and attribution of reality to specific beliefs, worldviews, and apparent memories which might exacerbate the risk of iatrogenic complications that other psychotherapeutic approaches have historically faced, such as false memory syndrome. These considerations are timely, as the use of psychedelics is becoming increasingly mainstream, in an environment marked by the emergence of strong commercial interest for psychedelic therapy. We elaborate on these ethical challenges via three examples illustrating issues of validation and mediation in therapeutic, neo-shamanic and research contexts involving psychedelic use. Finally, we propose a pragmatic framework to attend to these challenges based on an ethical approach which considers the embeddedness of psychedelic experiences within larger historical and cultural contexts, their intersubjective character and the use of practices which we conceptualise here as forms of psychedelic apprenticeship. This notion of apprenticeship goes beyond current approaches of preparation and integration by stressing the central importance of validation practices based on empathic resonance by an experienced therapist or guide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Timmermann
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, 4615Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Rosalind Watts
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Medicine, 4615Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - David Dupuis
- Department of Anthropology/Hearing the voice, 3057Durham University, Durham, UK
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Schleim S. Stable Consciousness? The "Hard Problem" Historically Reconstructed and in Perspective of Neurophenomenological Research on Meditation. Front Psychol 2022; 13:914322. [PMID: 35693482 PMCID: PMC9185404 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.914322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Finding a scientific, third-person explanation of subjective experience or phenomenal content is commonly called the "hard problem" of consciousness. There has recently been a surge in neuropsychological research on meditation in general and long-term meditators in particular. These experimental subjects are allegedly capable of generating a stable state of consciousness over a prolonged period of time, which makes experimentation with them an interesting paradigm for consciousness research. This perspective article starts out with a historical reconstruction of the "hard problem," tracing it back to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Emil du Bois-Reymond in the 18th and 19th century, respectively, and the problem of introspection as already acknowledged by Wilhelm Wundt in the 19th century. It then discusses the prospects of research on long-term meditators from a contemporary perspective and with respect to the neurophenomenological research program already advocated by Francisco J. Varela.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Schleim
- Theory and History of Psychology, Heymans Institute for Psychological Research, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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Grégoire C, Marie N, Sombrun C, Faymonville ME, Kotsou I, van Nitsen V, de Ribaucourt S, Jerusalem G, Laureys S, Vanhaudenhuyse A, Gosseries O. Hypnosis, Meditation, and Self-Induced Cognitive Trance to Improve Post-treatment Oncological Patients' Quality of Life: Study Protocol. Front Psychol 2022; 13:807741. [PMID: 35222195 PMCID: PMC8866821 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.807741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction A symptom cluster is very common among oncological patients: cancer-related fatigue (CRF), emotional distress, sleep difficulties, pain, and cognitive difficulties. Clinical applications of interventions based on non-ordinary states of consciousness, mostly hypnosis and meditation, are starting to be investigated in oncology settings. They revealed encouraging results in terms of improvements of these symptoms. However, these studies often focused on breast cancer patients, with methodological limitations (e.g., small sample size, no control group, and no follow-up). Another non-ordinary state of consciousness may also have therapeutic applications in oncology: self-induced cognitive trance (SICT). It seems to differ from hypnosis and meditation, as it involves the body more directly. Thus, investigating its clinical applications, along with hypnosis and meditation interventions, could improve available therapeutic options in oncology. This article details the study protocol of a preference-based longitudinal controlled superiority trial aiming to assess the effectiveness of 3 group interventions (hypnosis, meditation, and SICT) to improve oncological patients’ quality of life, and more specifically CRF, emotional distress, sleep, pain, and cognitive difficulties (primary outcomes). Methods and analysis A power analysis required a total sample of 160 patients. Main inclusion criteria are: cancer diagnosis, active treatments completed for less than a year, no practice of hypnosis, meditation, or SICT, and presence of at least one of these four symptoms: fatigue, sleep difficulties, depression, or anxiety. Each participant will choose the intervention in which they want to participate (hypnosis, mindful self-compassion meditation, SICT, or no intervention—control group). To test the effectiveness of the interventions, data will be collected by questionnaires and neurobiological measures and directly from the medical record at four time points: before inclusion in the study (baseline); immediately after the intervention; and at 3- and 12-month follow-up. The longitudinal data in each group will then be measured. Discussion In addition to standard cancer therapies, there is a growing interest from patients in complementary approaches, such as hypnosis, meditation, and SICT. The results of this study will be useful to increase knowledge about short- and long-term effectiveness of 3 group interventions for CRF, emotional distress, sleep, pain, and cognitive difficulties in patients with different cancers. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov/ (NCT04873661). Retrospectively registered on the 29th of April 2021. url: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04873661
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Grégoire
- Sensation and Perception Research Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Nolwenn Marie
- Sensation and Perception Research Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | | | - Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville
- Sensation and Perception Research Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Arsène Burny Cancerology Institute, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Ilios Kotsou
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Free University of Brussels and Emergences Association, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Valérie van Nitsen
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Free University of Brussels and Emergences Association, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sybille de Ribaucourt
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Free University of Brussels and Emergences Association, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Guy Jerusalem
- Medical Oncology Department, CHU Liège and University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Centre du Cerveau2, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse
- Sensation and Perception Research Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Algology Interdisciplinary Center, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Olivia Gosseries
- Sensation and Perception Research Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Centre du Cerveau2, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium
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10
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Sandved-Smith L, Hesp C, Mattout J, Friston K, Lutz A, Ramstead MJD. Towards a computational phenomenology of mental action: modelling meta-awareness and attentional control with deep parametric active inference. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab018. [PMID: 34457352 PMCID: PMC8396119 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Meta-awareness refers to the capacity to explicitly notice the current content of consciousness and has been identified as a key component for the successful control of cognitive states, such as the deliberate direction of attention. This paper proposes a formal model of meta-awareness and attentional control using hierarchical active inference. To do so, we cast mental action as policy selection over higher-level cognitive states and add a further hierarchical level to model meta-awareness states that modulate the expected confidence (precision) in the mapping between observations and hidden cognitive states. We simulate the example of mind-wandering and its regulation during a task involving sustained selective attention on a perceptual object. This provides a computational case study for an inferential architecture that is apt to enable the emergence of these central components of human phenomenology, namely, the ability to access and control cognitive states. We propose that this approach can be generalized to other cognitive states, and hence, this paper provides the first steps towards the development of a computational phenomenology of mental action and more broadly of our ability to monitor and control our own cognitive states. Future steps of this work will focus on fitting the model with qualitative, behavioural, and neural data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Sandved-Smith
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, 95 Bd Pinel, Lyon 69500, France
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Casper Hesp
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam 1098 XH, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Centre, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam 1098 XH, Netherlands
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Oude Turfmarkt 147, Amsterdam 1012 GC, Netherlands
| | - Jérémie Mattout
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, 95 Bd Pinel, Lyon 69500, France
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Antoine Lutz
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, 95 Bd Pinel, Lyon 69500, France
| | - Maxwell J D Ramstead
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, 1033 Pine Ave W, QC H3A 1A1, Canada
- Culture, Mind, and Brain Program, McGill University, Montreal, 1033 Pine Ave W, QC H3A 1A1, Canada
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11
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Nave O, Trautwein FM, Ataria Y, Dor-Ziderman Y, Schweitzer Y, Fulder S, Berkovich-Ohana A. Self-Boundary Dissolution in Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation. Brain Sci 2021; 11:819. [PMID: 34205621 PMCID: PMC8235013 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11060819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A fundamental aspect of the sense of self is its pre-reflective dimension specifying the self as a bounded and embodied knower and agent. Being a constant and tacit feature structuring consciousness, it eludes robust empirical exploration. Recently, deep meditative states involving global dissolution of the sense of self have been suggested as a promising path for advancing such an investigation. To that end, we conducted a comprehensive phenomenological inquiry into meditative self-boundary alteration. The induced states were systematically characterized by changes in six experiential features including the sense of location, agency, first-person perspective, attention, body sensations, and affective valence, as well as their interaction with meditative technique and overall degree of dissolution. Quantitative analyses of the relationships between these phenomenological categories highlighted a unitary dimension of boundary dissolution. Notably, passive meditative gestures of "letting go", which reduce attentional engagement and sense of agency, emerged as driving the depth of dissolution. These findings are aligned with an enactive approach to the pre-reflective sense of self, linking its generation to sensorimotor activity and attention-demanding processes. Moreover, they set the stage for future phenomenologically informed analyses of neurophysiological data and highlight the utility of combining phenomenology and intense contemplative training for a scientific characterization of processes giving rise to the basic sense of being a bounded self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ohad Nave
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
| | - Fynn-Mathis Trautwein
- Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; (F.-M.T.); (Y.D.-Z.); (Y.S.)
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Yochai Ataria
- Psychology Department, Tel-Hai Academic College, Qiryat Shemona 1220800, Israel;
| | - Yair Dor-Ziderman
- Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; (F.-M.T.); (Y.D.-Z.); (Y.S.)
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Yoav Schweitzer
- Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; (F.-M.T.); (Y.D.-Z.); (Y.S.)
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
| | - Stephen Fulder
- The Israel Insight Society (Tovana), Kibbutz Ein-Dor, R.D. Izrael 1933500, Israel;
| | - Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
- Edmond Safra Brain Research Center, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; (F.-M.T.); (Y.D.-Z.); (Y.S.)
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
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12
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Winkelman MJ. The Evolved Psychology of Psychedelic Set and Setting: Inferences Regarding the Roles of Shamanism and Entheogenic Ecopsychology. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:619890. [PMID: 33732156 PMCID: PMC7959790 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.619890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This review illustrates the relevance of shamanism and its evolution under effects of psilocybin as a framework for identifying evolved aspects of psychedelic set and setting. Effects of 5HT2 psychedelics on serotonin, stress adaptation, visual systems and personality illustrate adaptive mechanisms through which psychedelics could have enhanced hominin evolution as an environmental factor influencing selection for features of our evolved psychology. Evolutionary psychology perspectives on ritual, shamanism and psychedelics provides bases for inferences regarding psychedelics’ likely roles in hominin evolution as exogenous neurotransmitter sources through their effects in selection for innate dispositions for psychedelic set and setting. Psychedelics stimulate ancient brain structures and innate modular thought modules, especially self-awareness, other awareness, “mind reading,” spatial and visual intelligences. The integration of these innate modules are also core features of shamanism. Cross-cultural research illustrates shamanism is an empirical phenomenon of foraging societies, with its ancient basis in collective hominid displays, ritual alterations of consciousness, and endogenous healing responses. Shamanic practices employed psychedelics and manipulated extrapharmacological effects through stimulation of serotonin and dopamine systems and augmenting processes of the reptilian and paleomammalian brains. Differences between chimpanzee maximal displays and shamanic rituals reveal a zone of proximal development in hominin evolution. The evolution of the mimetic capacity for enactment, dance, music, and imitation provided central capacities underlying shamanic performances. Other chimp-human differences in ritualized behaviors are directly related to psychedelic effects and their integration of innate modular thought processes. Psychedelics and other ritual alterations of consciousness stimulate these and other innate responses such as soul flight and death-and-rebirth experiences. These findings provided bases for making inferences regarding foundations of our evolved set, setting and psychology. Shamanic setting is eminently communal with singing, drumming, dancing and dramatic displays. Innate modular thought structures are prominent features of the set of shamanism, exemplified in animism, animal identities, perceptions of spirits, and psychological incorporation of spirit others. A shamanic-informed psychedelic therapy includes: a preparatory set with practices such as sexual abstinence, fasting and dream incubation; a set derived from innate modular cognitive capacities and their integration expressed in a relational animistic worldview; a focus on internal imagery manifesting a presentational intelligence; and spirit relations involving incorporation of animals as personal powers. Psychedelic research and treatment can adopt this shamanic biogenetic paradigm to optimize set, setting and ritual frameworks to enhance psychedelic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael James Winkelman
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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13
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Mantel M, Roy JM, Bensafi M. Accounting for Subjectivity in Experimental Research on Human Olfaction. Chem Senses 2021; 46:6065098. [PMID: 33403395 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjaa082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Although olfaction is a modality with great interindividual perceptual disparities, its subjective dimension has been let aside in modern research, in line with the overall neglect of consciousness in experimental psychology. However, following the renewed interest for the neural bases of consciousness, some methodological leads have been proposed to include subjectivity in experimental protocols. Here, we argue that adapting such methods to the field of olfaction will allow to rigorously acquire subjective reports, and we present several ways to do so. This will improve the understanding of diversity in odor perception and its underlying neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marylou Mantel
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR INSERM, CH Le Vinatier Bat, Bron, Cedex, France.,Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Parvis Descartes, Lyon, France
| | - Jean-Michel Roy
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Parvis Descartes, Lyon, France
| | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS UMR INSERM, CH Le Vinatier Bat, Bron, Cedex, France
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14
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Jeunet
- CLLE Lab, CNRS, Univ. Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.,École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Denis Hauw
- Institut des Sciences du Sport, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jose Del R Millán
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States.,Department of Neurology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, United States
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15
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Berkovich-Ohana A, Dor-Ziderman Y, Trautwein FM, Schweitzer Y, Nave O, Fulder S, Ataria Y. The Hitchhiker's Guide to Neurophenomenology - The Case of Studying Self Boundaries With Meditators. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1680. [PMID: 32793056 PMCID: PMC7385412 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper is a practical guide to neurophenomenology. Varela's neurophenomenological research program (NRP) aspires to bridge the gap between, and integrate, first-person (1P) and third-person (3P) approaches to understanding the mind. It does so by suggesting a methodological framework allowing these two irreducible phenomenal domains to relate and reciprocally support the investigation of one another. While highly appealing theoretically, neurophenomenology invites researchers to a challenging methodological endeavor. Based on our experience with empirical neurophenomenological implementation, we offer practical clarifications and insights learnt along the way. In the first part of the paper, we outline the theoretical principles of the NRP and briefly present the field of 1P research. We speak to the importance of phenomenological training and outline the utility of cooperating with meditators as skilled participants. We suggest that 1P accounts of subjective experience can be placed on a complexity continuum ranging between thick and thin phenomenology, highlighting the tension and trade-off inherent to the neurophenomenological attempt to naturalize phenomenology. We then outline a typology of bridges, which create mutual constraints between 1P and 3P approaches, and argue for the utility of alternating between the bridges depending on the available experimental resources, domain of interest and level of sought articulation. In the second part of the paper, we demonstrate how the theory can be put into practice by describing a decade of neurophenomenological studies investigating the sense of self with increasing focus on its embodied, and minimal, aspects. These aspects are accessed via the dissolution of the sense-of-boundaries, shedding new light on the multi-dimensionality and flexibility of embodied selfhood. We emphasize the evolving neurophenomenological dialogue, showing how consecutive studies, placed differently on the thin-to-thick 1P continuum, advance the research project by using the bridging principles appropriate for each stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
- Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Yair Dor-Ziderman
- Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Fynn-Mathis Trautwein
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Yoav Schweitzer
- Department of Learning, Instruction and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Counseling and Human Development, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ohad Nave
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Yochai Ataria
- Department of Psychology, Tel-Hai Academic College, Tel Hai, Israel
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16
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Abstract
The neuroscience of empathy has enormously expanded in the past two decades, thereby making instrumental progress for the understanding of neural substrates involved in affective and cognitive aspects of empathy. Yet, these conclusions have relied on ultrasimplified tasks resulting in the affective/cognitive dichotomy that was often modeled and overemphasized in pathological, developmental, and genetic studies of empathy. As such, the affective/cognitive model of empathy could not straightforwardly accommodate and explain the recent surge of neuroscientific data obtained from studies employing naturalistic approaches and intergroup conditions. Inspired by phenomenological philosophy, this article paves the way for a new scientific perspective on empathy that breaks thorough the affective/cognitive dichotomy. This neuro-phenomenological account leans on phenomenological analyses and can straightforwardly explain recent neuroscience data. It emphasizes the dynamic, subjective, and piecemeal features of empathic experiences and unpicks the graded nature of empathy. The graded empathy hypothesis postulates that attending to others' expressions always facilitates empathy, but the parametric modulation in the levels of the empathic experience varies as a function of one's social interest (e.g., via intergroup or inter-personal cues) in the observed other. Drawing on multiple resources that integrate neuroscience with phenomenology, we describe the potential of this graded framework in an era of real-life experimentation. By wearing lenses of neuro-phenomenology, this original perspective can change the way empathy is considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland.,Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Oren Bader
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center of Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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17
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Vásquez-Rosati A, Montefusco-Siegmund R, López V, Cosmelli D. Emotional Influences on Cognitive Flexibility Depend on Individual Differences: A Combined Micro-Phenomenological and Psychophysiological Study. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1138. [PMID: 31178787 PMCID: PMC6543930 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Imagine a scenario where you are cooking and suddenly, the contents of the pot start to come out, and the oven bell rings. You would have to stop what you are doing and start responding to the changing demands, switching between different objects, operations and mental sets. This ability is known as cognitive flexibility. Now, add to this scenario a strong emotional atmosphere that invades you as you spontaneously recall a difficult situation you had that morning. How would you behave? Recent studies suggest that emotional states do modulate cognitive flexibility, but these findings are still controversial. Moreover, there is a lack of evidence regarding the underlying brain processes. The purpose of the present study was, therefore, to examine such interaction while monitoring changes in ongoing cortical activity using EEG. In order to answer this question, we used two musical stimuli to induce emotional states (positive/high arousal/open stance and negative/high arousal/closed stance). Twenty-nine participants performed two blocks of the Madrid Card Sorting Task in a neutral silence condition and then four blocks while listening to the counterbalanced musical stimuli. To explore this interaction, we used a combination of first-person (micro-phenomenological interview) and third-person (behavior and EEG) approaches. Our results show that compared to the positive stimuli and silence condition, negative stimuli decrease reaction times (RTs) for the shift signal. Our data show that the valance of the first emotional block is determinant in the RTs of the subsequent blocks. Additionally, the analysis of the micro-phenomenological interview and the integration of first- and third-person data show that the emotional disposition generated by the music could facilitate task performance for some participants or hamper it for others, independently of its emotional valence. When the emotional disposition hampered task execution, RTs were slower, and the P300 potential showed a reduced amplitude compared to the facilitated condition. These findings show that the interaction between emotion and cognitive flexibility is more complex than previously thought and points to a new way of understanding the underlying mechanisms by incorporating an in-depth analysis of individual subjective experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Vásquez-Rosati
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Laboratorio de Fenomenología Corporal, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Vladimir López
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Diego Cosmelli
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Instituto Milenio para la Investigación en Depresión y Personalidad, MIDAP, Santiago, Chile
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18
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Abstract
We summarize our recently introduced Projective Consciousness Model (PCM) (Rudrauf et al., 2017) and relate it to outstanding conceptual issues in the theory of consciousness. The PCM combines a projective geometrical model of the perspectival phenomenological structure of the field of consciousness with a variational Free Energy minimization model of active inference, yielding an account of the cybernetic function of consciousness, viz., the modulation of the field's cognitive and affective dynamics for the effective control of embodied agents. The geometrical and active inference components are linked via the concept of projective transformation, which is crucial to understanding how conscious organisms integrate perception, emotion, memory, reasoning, and perspectival imagination in order to control behavior, enhance resilience, and optimize preference satisfaction. The PCM makes substantive empirical predictions and fits well into a (neuro)computationalist framework. It also helps us to account for aspects of subjective character that are sometimes ignored or conflated: pre-reflective self-consciousness, the first-person point of view, the sense of minenness or ownership, and social self-consciousness. We argue that the PCM, though still in development, offers us the most complete theory to date of what Thomas Metzinger has called "phenomenal selfhood."
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Williford
- Department of Philosophy and Humanities, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States
| | - Daniel Bennequin
- Department of Mathematics, Mathematics Institute of Jussieu–Paris Rive Gauche, University of Paris 7, Paris, France
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David Rudrauf
- Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Section of Psychology, Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Centre Universitaire d’Informatique, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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19
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Davelaar EJ, Barnby JM, Almasi S, Eatough V. Differential Subjective Experiences in Learners and Non-learners in Frontal Alpha Neurofeedback: Piloting a Mixed-Method Approach. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:402. [PMID: 30405374 PMCID: PMC6206258 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In a neurofeedback paradigm, trainees learn to willfully control their brain dynamics. How this is realized remains an open question. We evaluate the hypothesis that learning success is associated with a specific phenomenology. To address this proposal, we combined quantitative and qualitative analyses of a short neurofeedback training (NFT) session during which participants enhanced mid-frontal alpha power and were then subsequently interviewed about their experiences. We analyzed the electrophysiological data to determine learning success and classify trainees as learners and non-learners. The subjective experiences differed between the two groups and are best described along a trying-sensing continuum, with non-learners engaging effortfully with the task (e.g., “I will it [the bar] to move”) whereas learners reported more sensing of their inner (e.g., “Something inside my stomach”) and outer environment (e.g., “I was aware of the sound of the beeps”). In the process of piloting this mixed-method approach, we developed a classification system for the verbal reports. This system provides an explicit analytic framework which might guide future studies that aim to investigate the association between subjective experiences and NFT protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eddy J Davelaar
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joe M Barnby
- Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Soma Almasi
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Virginia Eatough
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Abstract
In Being No One, Metzinger (2004[2003]) introduces an approach to the scientific study of consciousness that draws on theories and results from different disciplines, targeted at multiple levels of analysis. Descriptions and assumptions formulated at, for instance, the phenomenological, representationalist, and neurobiological levels of analysis provide different perspectives on the same phenomenon, which can ultimately yield necessary and sufficient conditions for applying the concept of phenomenal representation. In this way, the "method of interdisciplinary constraint satisfaction (MICS)" (as it has been called by Weisberg, 2005) promotes our understanding of consciousness. However, even more than a decade after the first publication of Being No One, we still lack a mature science of consciousness. This paper makes the following meta-theoretical contribution: It analyzes the hurdles an approach such as MICS has yet to overcome and discusses to what extent existing approaches solve the problems left open by MICS. Furthermore, it argues that a unifying theory of different features of consciousness is required to reach a mature science of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanja Wiese
- Department of Philosophy, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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21
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Winkelman MJ. The Mechanisms of Psychedelic Visionary Experiences: Hypotheses from Evolutionary Psychology. Front Neurosci 2017; 11:539. [PMID: 29033783 PMCID: PMC5625021 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropharmacological effects of psychedelics have profound cognitive, emotional, and social effects that inspired the development of cultures and religions worldwide. Findings that psychedelics objectively and reliably produce mystical experiences press the question of the neuropharmacological mechanisms by which these highly significant experiences are produced by exogenous neurotransmitter analogs. Humans have a long evolutionary relationship with psychedelics, a consequence of psychedelics' selective effects for human cognitive abilities, exemplified in the information rich visionary experiences. Objective evidence that psychedelics produce classic mystical experiences, coupled with the finding that hallucinatory experiences can be induced by many non-drug mechanisms, illustrates the need for a common model of visionary effects. Several models implicate disturbances of normal regulatory processes in the brain as the underlying mechanisms responsible for the similarities of visionary experiences produced by psychedelic and other methods for altering consciousness. Similarities in psychedelic-induced visionary experiences and those produced by practices such as meditation and hypnosis and pathological conditions such as epilepsy indicate the need for a general model explaining visionary experiences. Common mechanisms underlying diverse alterations of consciousness involve the disruption of normal functions of the prefrontal cortex and default mode network (DMN). This interruption of ordinary control mechanisms allows for the release of thalamic and other lower brain discharges that stimulate a visual information representation system and release the effects of innate cognitive functions and operators. Converging forms of evidence support the hypothesis that the source of psychedelic experiences involves the emergence of these innate cognitive processes of lower brain systems, with visionary experiences resulting from the activation of innate processes based in the mirror neuron system (MNS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Winkelman
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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22
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Dor-Ziderman Y, Ataria Y, Fulder S, Goldstein A, Berkovich-Ohana A. Self-specific processing in the meditating brain: a MEG neurophenomenology study. Neurosci Conscious 2016; 2016:niw019. [PMID: 30397512 PMCID: PMC6210398 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niw019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 08/25/2016] [Accepted: 08/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-specific processes (SSPs) specify the self as an embodied subject and agent, implementing a functional self/nonself distinction in perception, cognition, and action. Despite recent interest, it is still undetermined whether SSPs are all-or-nothing or graded phenomena; whether they can be identified in neuroimaging data; and whether they can be altered through attentional training. These issues are approached through a neurophenomenological exploration of the sense-of-boundaries (SB), the fundamental experience of being an 'I' (self) separated from the 'world' (nonself). The SB experience was explored in collaboration with a uniquely qualified meditation practitioner, who volitionally produced, while being scanned by magnetoencephalogram (MEG), three mental states characterized by a graded SB experience. The results were then partly validated in an independent group of 10 long-term meditators. Implicated neural mechanisms include right-lateralized beta oscillations in the temporo-parietal junction, a region known to mediate the experiential unity of self and body; and in the medial parietal cortex, a central node of the self's representational system. The graded nature as well as the trainable flexibility and neural plasticity of SSPs may hold clinical implications for populations with a disturbed SB.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yochai Ataria
- Neurobiology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tel-Hai Academic College, Upper Galilee, Israel
| | - Stephen Fulder
- Founder, Senior Teacher, Israel Insight Society (Tovana), Israel
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.,Psychology Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
- Faculty of Education, The Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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23
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Abstract
Although most definitions of hypnosis consider inductions as the initial stage in a hypnosis protocol, knowledge of inductions remains poor and uninformed by recent developments in theory and research. It is frequently argued that inductions play a critical role in hypnotic responding or, by contrast, are largely interchangeable and unimportant. Drawing on the literature on suggestibility, spontaneous phenomenology, neurophysiology, and cognition, this article argues that the value of inductions, as well as the potential value of inductions, is more nuanced and uncertain. Certain components of standard inductions appear to be efficacious in enhancing suggestibility, whereas others do not have any clear benefits. The impact of inductions on suggestibility seems to vary across suggestions and modes of assessment with the sources of this variability being unknown. Considering these effects, and the broader impact of inductions on spontaneous conscious states and cognition, through the lens of heterogeneity in high hypnotic suggestibility and componential models of hypnotic suggestibility may offer novel research avenues in this area. The article concludes by arguing for the practical and theory-driven optimization of inductions.
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24
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Moore K, Cromby J. Editorial: How Best to "Go On"? Prospects for a "Modern Synthesis" in the Sciences of Mind. Front Psychol 2016; 7:766. [PMID: 27303330 PMCID: PMC4885333 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Moore
- Faculty of Environment, Society and Design, Lincoln University Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - John Cromby
- School of Management, University of Leicester Leicester, UK
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25
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Solomonova E. First-person experience and yoga research: studying neural correlates of an intentional practice. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:85. [PMID: 25762918 PMCID: PMC4340189 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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Solomonova E, Fox KCR, Nielsen T. Methodological considerations for the neurophenomenology of dreaming: commentary on Windt's "Reporting dream experience". Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:317. [PMID: 24904360 PMCID: PMC4033080 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Elizaveta Solomonova
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, University of Montreal Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Kieran C R Fox
- Cognitive Neuroscience of Thought Lab, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Tore Nielsen
- Dream and Nightmare Laboratory, Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal Montreal, QC, Canada
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Segovia-Cuellar A. [ Neurophenomenology: Project for a Science of Past Experiences]. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 41:644-58. [PMID: 26572118 DOI: 10.1016/S0034-7450(14)60035-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2011] [Accepted: 06/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Since the middle of 20(th) Century, cognitive science has been recognized as the genuine convergence field for all scientific advances in human mind studies with the mechanisms enabling knowledge. Since then, it has become a multidisciplinary area where several research disciplines and actors have acquired citizenship, allowing new expectations on the scientific study of human uniqueness. OBJECTIVES Critical assessment of the discussion that the discourse of theoretical biology has been assuming regarding the study of the cognitive phenomenon with special attention to the enactive project and, extensively, to the neuro-phenomenology of Francisco J. Varela. METHODS Starting with a brief and synthesized history of cognitive science, we will establish the key principles for understanding the emergence of the enactive paradigm and the "embodied" turn influenced by continental phenomenology in the cognitive science, as well as the general guidelines of Neurophenomenology. CONCLUSIONS The "hard problem" of consciousness still faces several types of reductionism relegating the cognitive issue to a kind of merely rational, individual, abstract and disembodied mechanism, thus strengthening the functionalist paradigm in mind philosophy. A solution to classic dichotomies in mind sciences must start rejecting such assumptions.
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Abstract
One of the essential tasks of neuropsychoanalysis is to investigate the neural correlates of sexual drives. Here, we consider the four defining characteristics of sexual drives as delineated by Freud: their pressure, aim, object, and source. We systematically examine the relations between these characteristics and the four-component neurophenomenological model that we have proposed based on functional neuroimaging studies, which comprises a cognitive, a motivational, an emotional and an autonomic/neuroendocrine component. Functional neuroimaging studies of sexual arousal (SA) have thrown a new light on the four fundamental characteristics of sexual drives by identifying their potential neural correlates. While these studies are essentially consistent with the Freudian model of drives, the main difference emerging between the functional neuroimaging perspective on sexual drives and the Freudian theory relates to the source of drives. From a functional neuroimaging perspective, sources of sexual drives, conceived by psychoanalysis as processes of excitation occurring in a peripheral organ, do not seem, at least in adult subjects, to be an essential part of the determinants of SA. It is rather the central processing of visual or genital stimuli that gives to these stimuli their sexually arousing and sexually pleasurable character. Finally, based on functional neuroimaging results, some possible improvements to the psychoanalytic theory of sexual drives are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serge Stoléru
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U669Villejuif, France
- Département Biologie, Médecine et Santé, Université Paris-Decartes, UMR-S 669Paris, France
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Davis JH, Vago DR. Can enlightenment be traced to specific neural correlates, cognition, or behavior? No, and (a qualified) Yes. Front Psychol 2013; 4:870. [PMID: 24319437 PMCID: PMC3837242 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jake H Davis
- Department of Philosophy, City University of New York Graduate Center New York, NY, USA
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Abstract
Some types of first-person narrations of mental processes that constitute phenomenological accounts and texts, such as internal monolog statements, epitomize the best expressions and representations of human consciousness available and therefore may be used to model phenomenological streams of consciousness. The type of autonomous monolog in which an author or narrator declares actual mental processes in a think aloud manner seems particularly suitable for modeling streams of consciousness. A narrative method to extract and depict conscious processes, operations, contents, and states from an acceptable phenomenological text would require three subsequent steps: operational criteria for producing and/or selecting a phenomenological text, a system for detecting text items that are indicative of conscious contents and processes, and a procedure for representing such items in formal dynamic system devices such as Petri nets. The requirements and restrictions of each of these steps are presented, analyzed, and applied to phenomenological texts in the following manner: (1) the relevance of introspective language and narrative analyses to consciousness research and the idea that specific narratives are of paramount interest for such investigation is justified; (2) some of the obstacles and constraints to attain plausible consciousness inferences from narrative texts and the methodological requirements to extract and depict items relevant to consciousness contents and operations from a suitable phenomenological text are examined; (3) a preliminary exercise of the proposed method is used to analyze and chart a classical interior monolog excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses, a masterpiece of the stream-of-consciousness literary technique and, finally, (4) an inter-subjective evaluation for inter-observer agreement of mental attributions of another phenomenological text (an excerpt from the Intimate Journal of Miguel de Unamuno) is presented using some mathematical tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- José-Luis Díaz
- Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico Mexico City, Mexico
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31
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Allen M, Smallwood J, Christensen J, Gramm D, Rasmussen B, Jensen CG, Roepstorff A, Lutz A. The balanced mind: the variability of task-unrelated thoughts predicts error monitoring. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:743. [PMID: 24223545 PMCID: PMC3819597 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2013] [Accepted: 10/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Self-generated thoughts unrelated to ongoing activities, also known as "mind-wandering," make up a substantial portion of our daily lives. Reports of such task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) predict both poor performance on demanding cognitive tasks and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity in the default mode network (DMN). However, recent findings suggest that TUTs and the DMN can also facilitate metacognitive abilities and related behaviors. To further understand these relationships, we examined the influence of subjective intensity, ruminative quality, and variability of mind-wandering on response inhibition and monitoring, using the Error Awareness Task (EAT). We expected to replicate links between TUT and reduced inhibition, and explored whether variance in TUT would predict improved error monitoring, reflecting a capacity to balance between internal and external cognition. By analyzing BOLD responses to subjective probes and the EAT, we dissociated contributions of the DMN, executive, and salience networks to task performance. While both response inhibition and online TUT ratings modulated BOLD activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the DMN, the former recruited a more dorsal area implying functional segregation. We further found that individual differences in mean TUTs strongly predicted EAT stop accuracy, while TUT variability specifically predicted levels of error awareness. Interestingly, we also observed co-activation of salience and default mode regions during error awareness, supporting a link between monitoring and TUTs. Altogether our results suggest that although TUT is detrimental to task performance, fluctuations in attention between self-generated and external task-related thought is a characteristic of individuals with greater metacognitive monitoring capacity. Achieving a balance between internally and externally oriented thought may thus aid individuals in optimizing their task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micah Allen
- MindLAB, Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus, Denmark ; Department of Culture and Society, Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University Aarhus, Denmark
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32
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Desbordes G, Negi LT. A new era for mind studies: training investigators in both scientific and contemplative methods of inquiry. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:741. [PMID: 24204340 PMCID: PMC3817371 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 10/15/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gaëlle Desbordes
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA ; Center for Computational Neuroscience and Neural Technology, Boston University Boston, MA, USA
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Bagdasaryan J, Quyen MLV. Experiencing your brain: neurofeedback as a new bridge between neuroscience and phenomenology. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:680. [PMID: 24187537 PMCID: PMC3807564 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophenomenology is a scientific research program aimed to combine neuroscience with phenomenology in order to study human experience. Nevertheless, despite several explicit implementations, the integration of first-person data into the experimental protocols of cognitive neuroscience still faces a number of epistemological and methodological challenges. Notably, the difficulties to simultaneously acquire phenomenological and neuroscientific data have limited its implementation into research projects. In our paper, we propose that neurofeedback paradigms, in which subjects learn to self-regulate their own neural activity, may offer a pragmatic way to integrate first-person and third-person descriptions. Here, information from first- and third-person perspectives is braided together in the iterative causal closed loop, creating experimental situations in which they reciprocally constrain each other. In real-time, the subject is not only actively involved in the process of data acquisition, but also assisted to directly influence the neural data through conscious experience. Thus, neurofeedback may help to gain a deeper phenomenological-physiological understanding of downward causations whereby conscious activities have direct causal effects on neuronal patterns. We discuss possible mechanisms that could mediate such effects and indicate a number of directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana Bagdasaryan
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, INSERM UMRS 975 - CNRS UMR 7225, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, France ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris, France
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de Haan S, Rietveld E, Stokhof M, Denys D. The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:653. [PMID: 24133438 PMCID: PMC3794192 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
People suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) do things they do not want to do, and/or they think things they do not want to think. In about 10% of OCD patients, none of the available treatment options is effective. A small group of these patients is currently being treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS). DBS involves the implantation of electrodes in the brain. These electrodes give a continuous electrical pulse to the brain area in which they are implanted. It turns out that patients may experience profound changes as a result of DBS treatment. It is not just the symptoms that change; patients rather seem to experience a different way of being in the world. These global effects are insufficiently captured by traditional psychiatric scales, which mainly consist of behavioral measures of the severity of the symptoms. In this article we aim to capture the changes in the patients' phenomenology and make sense of the broad range of changes they report. For that we introduce an enactive, affordance-based model that fleshes out the dynamic interactions between person and world in four aspects. The first aspect is the patients' experience of the world. We propose to specify the patients' world in terms of a field of affordances, with the three dimensions of broadness of scope (“width” of the field), temporal horizon (“depth”), and relevance of the perceived affordances (“height”). The second aspect is the person-side of the interaction, that is, the patients' self-experience, notably their moods and feelings. Thirdly, we point to the different characteristics of the way in which patients relate to the world. And lastly, the existential stance refers to the stance that patients take toward the changes they experience: the second-order evaluative relation to their interactions and themselves. With our model we intend to specify the notion of being in the world in order to do justice to the phenomenological effects of DBS treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanneke de Haan
- Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
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35
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Bockelman P, Reinerman-Jones L, Gallagher S. Methodological lessons in neurophenomenology: Review of a baseline study and recommendations for research approaches. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:608. [PMID: 24133430 PMCID: PMC3794193 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 09/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophenomenological (NP) methods integrate objective and subjective data in ways that retain the statistical power of established disciplines (like cognitive science) while embracing the value of first-person reports of experience. The present paper positions neurophenomenology as an approach that pulls from traditions of cognitive science but includes techniques that are challenging for cognitive science in some ways. A baseline study is reviewed for “lessons learned,” that is, the potential methodological improvements that will support advancements in understanding consciousness and cognition using neurophenomenology. These improvements, we suggest, include (1) addressing issues of interdisciplinarity by purposefully and systematically creating and maintaining shared mental models among research team members; (2) making sure that NP experiments include high standards of experimental design and execution to achieve variable control, reliability, generalizability, and replication of results; and (3) conceiving of phenomenological interview techniques as placing the impetus on the interviewer in interaction with the experimental subject.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Bockelman
- Applied Cognition and Training in Virtual Environments Lab, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orland, FL, USA
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36
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Khachouf OT, Poletti S, Pagnoni G. The embodied transcendental: a Kantian perspective on neurophenomenology. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:611. [PMID: 24137116 PMCID: PMC3786226 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2013] [Accepted: 09/06/2013] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophenomenology is a research programme aimed at bridging the explanatory gap between first-person subjective experience and neurophysiological third-person data, through an embodied and enactive approach to the biology of consciousness. The present proposal attempts to further characterize the bodily basis of the mind by adopting a naturalistic view of the phenomenological concept of intentionality as the a priori invariant character of any lived experience. Building on the Kantian definition of transcendentality as “what concerns the a priori formal structures of the subject's mind” and as a precondition for the very possibility of human knowledge, we will suggest that this transcendental core may in fact be rooted in biology and can be examined within an extension of the theory of autopoiesis. The argument will be first clarified by examining its application to previously proposed elementary autopoietic models, to the bacterium, and to the immune system; it will be then further substantiated and illustrated by examining the mirror-neuron system and the default mode network as biological instances exemplifying the enactive nature of knowledge, and by discussing the phenomenological aspects of selected neurological conditions (neglect, schizophrenia). In this context, the free-energy principle proposed recently by Karl Friston will be briefly introduced as a rigorous, neurally-plausible framework that seems to accomodate optimally these ideas. While our approach is biologically-inspired, we will maintain that lived first-person experience is still critical for a better understanding of brain function, based on our argument that the former and the latter share the same transcendental structure. Finally, the role that disciplined contemplative practices can play to this aim, and an interpretation of the cognitive processes taking place during meditation under this perspective, will be also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar T Khachouf
- Department of Neural, Biomedical, and Metabolic Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Modena, Italy
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37
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Abstract
Contemporary philosophical and neurocognitive studies of the self have dissociated two distinct types of self-awareness: a "narrative" self-awareness (NS) weaving together episodic memory, future planning and self-evaluation into a coherent self-narrative and identity, and a "minimal" self-awareness (MS) focused on present momentary experience and closely tied to the sense of agency and ownership. Long-term Buddhist meditation practice aims at realization of a "selfless" mode of awareness (SL), where identification with a static sense of self is replaced by identification with the phenomenon of experiencing itself. NS-mediating mechanisms have been explored by neuroimaging, mainly fMRI, implicating prefrontal midline structures, but MS processes are not well characterized and SL even less so. To this end we tested 12 long-term mindfulness meditators using a neurophenomenological study design, incorporating both magnetoencephalogram (MEG) recordings and first person descriptions. We found that (1) NS attenuation involves extensive frontal, and medial prefrontal gamma band (60-80 Hz) power decreases, consistent with fMRI and intracranial EEG findings; (2) MS attenuation is related to beta-band (13-25 Hz) power decreases in a network that includes ventral medial prefrontal, medial posterior and lateral parietal regions; and (3) the experience of selflessness is linked to attenuation of beta-band activity in the right inferior parietal lobule. These results highlight the role of dissociable frequency-dependent networks in supporting different modes of self-processing, and the utility of combining phenomenology, mindfulness training and electrophysiological neuroimaging for characterizing self-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yair Dor-Ziderman
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel
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Dor-Ziderman Y, Berkovich-Ohana A, Glicksohn J, Goldstein A. Mindfulness-induced selflessness: a MEG neurophenomenological study. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:582. [PMID: 24068990 PMCID: PMC3781350 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Contemporary philosophical and neurocognitive studies of the self have dissociated two distinct types of self-awareness: a “narrative” self-awareness (NS) weaving together episodic memory, future planning and self-evaluation into a coherent self-narrative and identity, and a “minimal” self-awareness (MS) focused on present momentary experience and closely tied to the sense of agency and ownership. Long-term Buddhist meditation practice aims at realization of a “selfless” mode of awareness (SL), where identification with a static sense of self is replaced by identification with the phenomenon of experiencing itself. NS-mediating mechanisms have been explored by neuroimaging, mainly fMRI, implicating prefrontal midline structures, but MS processes are not well characterized and SL even less so. To this end we tested 12 long-term mindfulness meditators using a neurophenomenological study design, incorporating both magnetoencephalogram (MEG) recordings and first person descriptions. We found that (1) NS attenuation involves extensive frontal, and medial prefrontal gamma band (60–80 Hz) power decreases, consistent with fMRI and intracranial EEG findings; (2) MS attenuation is related to beta-band (13–25 Hz) power decreases in a network that includes ventral medial prefrontal, medial posterior and lateral parietal regions; and (3) the experience of selflessness is linked to attenuation of beta-band activity in the right inferior parietal lobule. These results highlight the role of dissociable frequency-dependent networks in supporting different modes of self-processing, and the utility of combining phenomenology, mindfulness training and electrophysiological neuroimaging for characterizing self-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yair Dor-Ziderman
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel
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Garrison KA, Santoyo JF, Davis JH, Thornhill TA, Kerr CE, Brewer JA. Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:440. [PMID: 23964222 PMCID: PMC3734786 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2013] [Accepted: 07/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurophenomenological studies seek to utilize first-person self-report to elucidate cognitive processes related to physiological data. Grounded theory offers an approach to the qualitative analysis of self-report, whereby theoretical constructs are derived from empirical data. Here we used grounded theory methodology (GTM) to assess how the first-person experience of meditation relates to neural activity in a core region of the default mode network-the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). We analyzed first-person data consisting of meditators' accounts of their subjective experience during runs of a real time fMRI neurofeedback study of meditation, and third-person data consisting of corresponding feedback graphs of PCC activity during the same runs. We found that for meditators, the subjective experiences of "undistracted awareness" such as "concentration" and "observing sensory experience," and "effortless doing" such as "observing sensory experience," "not efforting," and "contentment," correspond with PCC deactivation. Further, the subjective experiences of "distracted awareness" such as "distraction" and "interpreting," and "controlling" such as "efforting" and "discontentment," correspond with PCC activation. Moreover, we derived several novel hypotheses about how specific qualities of cognitive processes during meditation relate to PCC activity, such as the difference between meditation and "trying to meditate." These findings offer novel insights into the relationship between meditation and mind wandering or self-related thinking and neural activity in the default mode network, driven by first-person reports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen A. Garrison
- Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
| | - Juan F. Santoyo
- Contemplative Studies Initiative, Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Brown UniversityProvidence, RI, USA
| | - Jake H. Davis
- Contemplative Studies Initiative, Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Brown UniversityProvidence, RI, USA
- Department of Philosophy and Cognitive Science, City University of New York Graduate CenterNew York, NY, USA
| | - Thomas A. Thornhill
- Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Judson A. Brewer
- Yale Therapeutic Neuroscience Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT, USA
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40
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Fox KCR, Nijeboer S, Solomonova E, Domhoff GW, Christoff K. Dreaming as mind wandering: evidence from functional neuroimaging and first-person content reports. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:412. [PMID: 23908622 PMCID: PMC3726865 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 07/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Isolated reports have long suggested a similarity in content and thought processes across mind wandering (MW) during waking, and dream mentation during sleep. This overlap has encouraged speculation that both “daydreaming” and dreaming may engage similar brain mechanisms. To explore this possibility, we systematically examined published first-person experiential reports of MW and dreaming and found many similarities: in both states, content is largely audiovisual and emotional, follows loose narratives tinged with fantasy, is strongly related to current concerns, draws on long-term memory, and simulates social interactions. Both states are also characterized by a relative lack of meta-awareness. To relate first-person reports to neural evidence, we compared meta-analytic data from numerous functional neuroimaging (PET, fMRI) studies of the default mode network (DMN, with high chances of MW) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (with high chances of dreaming). Our findings show large overlaps in activation patterns of cortical regions: similar to MW/DMN activity, dreaming and REM sleep activate regions implicated in self-referential thought and memory, including medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), medial temporal lobe structures, and posterior cingulate. Conversely, in REM sleep numerous PFC executive regions are deactivated, even beyond levels seen during waking MW. We argue that dreaming can be understood as an “intensified” version of waking MW: though the two share many similarities, dreams tend to be longer, more visual and immersive, and to more strongly recruit numerous key hubs of the DMN. Further, whereas MW recruits fewer PFC regions than goal-directed thought, dreaming appears to be characterized by an even deeper quiescence of PFC regions involved in cognitive control and metacognition, with a corresponding lack of insight and meta-awareness. We suggest, then, that dreaming amplifies the same features that distinguish MW from goal-directed waking thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran C R Fox
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada
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