Pub Date : 2025-07-31DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103917
Pietro Spataro , Daniele Saraulli , Stefano Saraulli
The Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) refers to the finding that images encoded with to-be-responded targets are later remembered more accurately than images encoded with to-be-ignored distractors. The Dual-Task Interaction Model posits that the Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) elicits a transient enhancement in the perceptual resources allocated to the processing of target-associated images. With visual materials, this assumption has been supported by previous data showing that the ABE enhances pattern separation. In the present study we sought to determine first whether this facilitation could be replicated using a different paradigm, and second whether it could be extended to verbal materials. Furthermore, the use of words allowed us to disentangle the impact of the ABE on perceptual and conceptual pattern separation. The results showed that the ABE enhanced traditional recognition memory in all cases, whereas it failed to increase pattern separation, irrespective of the nature of the processes involved and the number of response options available in the recognition task. Our data are consistent with the idea that the ABE with verbal materials operates at the level of abstract, amodal representations.
{"title":"Attentional boost effect and pattern separation with visual and verbal materials","authors":"Pietro Spataro , Daniele Saraulli , Stefano Saraulli","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103917","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) refers to the finding that images encoded with to-be-responded targets are later remembered more accurately than images encoded with to-be-ignored distractors. The Dual-Task Interaction Model posits that the Attentional Boost Effect (ABE) elicits a transient enhancement in the perceptual resources allocated to the processing of target-associated images. With visual materials, this assumption has been supported by previous data showing that the ABE enhances pattern separation. In the present study we sought to determine first whether this facilitation could be replicated using a different paradigm, and second whether it could be extended to verbal materials. Furthermore, the use of words allowed us to disentangle the impact of the ABE on perceptual and conceptual pattern separation. The results showed that the ABE enhanced traditional recognition memory in all cases, whereas it failed to increase pattern separation, irrespective of the nature of the processes involved and the number of response options available in the recognition task. Our data are consistent with the idea that the ABE with verbal materials operates at the level of abstract, amodal representations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"134 ","pages":"Article 103917"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144737960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-29DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103909
Markus Siebertz, Petra Jansen
Intentional binding research attributes the shift of clock hand positions in the Libet clock task to sense of agency-related processes. We investigated the alternative theory that this binding is based on spatial working memory processes. In a correlational design in Experiment 1, 104 young healthy adults performed the Libet clock task, a second version of this task eliminating the continuous movement of the clock, and a spatial and visual 2-back task. The only evidence for the investigated theory was a correlation between outcome binding and the spatial 2-back task. In an experimental within-participant dual-task design in Experiment 2, 94 young, healthy adults did the Libet clock task in the retention intervals of spatial and visual memory tasks. We could not find conclusive evidence for an effect of spatial memory load on binding. Our results suggest that binding in the Libet clock task is not rooted in spatial working memory processes.
{"title":"Is the temporal binding effect in the Libet clock-task based in spatial working memory? A correlational and a dual-task approach","authors":"Markus Siebertz, Petra Jansen","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103909","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103909","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intentional binding research attributes the shift of clock hand positions in the Libet clock task to sense of agency-related processes. We investigated the alternative theory that this binding is based on spatial working memory processes. In a correlational design in Experiment 1, 104 young healthy adults performed the Libet clock task, a second version of this task eliminating the continuous movement of the clock, and a spatial and visual 2-back task. The only evidence for the investigated theory was a correlation between outcome binding and the spatial 2-back task. In an experimental within-participant dual-task design in Experiment 2, 94 young, healthy adults did the Libet clock task in the retention intervals of spatial and visual memory tasks. We could not find conclusive evidence for an effect of spatial memory load on binding. Our results suggest that binding in the Libet clock task is not rooted in spatial working memory processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"134 ","pages":"Article 103909"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144721468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This study examined how people estimate the prevalence of aphantasia (extreme lack of visual imagery) and hyperphantasia (extreme abundance of visual imagery) in the population and how their own imagery and verbal skills’ evaluations predict these estimations. Participants read the descriptions of extreme imagery and evaluated the percentage of individuals within a population to whom they apply. They also completed questionnaires assessing their cognitive skills and experiences related to imagery. We also assessed evaluations of sensory sensitivity as a related individual difference domain. The findings revealed significantly higher prevalence estimates for hyperphantasia than aphantasia in both population-level and self-rated measures. Consistently, these evaluations showed a shift toward positive values for object imagery skills, while no such pattern was observed for spatial imagery or verbal skills. Participants estimated the prevalence of hyperphantasia in the population at 37–53 % and aphantasia at 27–32 %, far exceeding the rates in the literature (approximately 3 % for hyperphantasia and 1 % for aphantasia) and their own vividness ratings. A similar trend was observed for sensitivity. Higher self-rated object imagery skills, but not spatial imagery or verbal skills, predicted higher population hyperphantasia estimates. Additionally, population-level measures from both the imagery and sensitivity domains predicted the estimated rates of both hyperphantasia and aphantasia in the population. Our work contributes to the understanding of public perceptions of visual-spatial cognitive diversity and suggests that self-observed traits may shape beliefs about the prevalence of these traits in the general population.
{"title":"How people estimate the prevalence of aphantasia and hyperphantasia in the population","authors":"Olesya Blazhenkova , Alexey Kotov , Tatyana Kotova","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103906","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103906","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined how people estimate the prevalence of aphantasia (extreme lack of visual imagery) and hyperphantasia (extreme abundance of visual imagery) in the population and how their own imagery and verbal skills’ evaluations predict these estimations. Participants read the descriptions of extreme imagery and evaluated the percentage of individuals within a population to whom they apply. They also completed questionnaires assessing their cognitive skills and experiences related to imagery. We also assessed evaluations of sensory sensitivity as a related individual difference domain. The findings revealed significantly higher prevalence estimates for hyperphantasia than aphantasia in both population-level and self-rated measures. Consistently, these evaluations showed a shift toward positive values for object imagery skills, while no such pattern was observed for spatial imagery or verbal skills. Participants estimated the prevalence of hyperphantasia in the population at 37–53<!--> <!-->% and aphantasia at 27–32<!--> <!-->%, far exceeding the rates in the literature (approximately 3<!--> <!-->% for hyperphantasia and 1<!--> <!-->% for aphantasia) and their own vividness ratings. A similar trend was observed for sensitivity. Higher self-rated object imagery skills, but not spatial imagery or verbal skills, predicted higher population hyperphantasia estimates. Additionally, population-level measures from both the imagery and sensitivity domains predicted the estimated rates of both hyperphantasia and aphantasia in the population. Our work contributes to the understanding of public perceptions of visual-spatial cognitive diversity and suggests that self-observed traits may shape beliefs about the prevalence of these traits in the general population.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103906"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Illusory body ownership, the sense that a life-sized virtual body seen from first person perspective (1PP) in virtual reality (VR), is your body, is a well-established result. Previous work has demonstrated that illusory body ownership also results in vicarious agency over actions of the virtual body (VB). Moreover, how those actions are carried out influences later real life behaviour. In our study participants entered a VR depicting a dressing room before a concert performance, embodied from 1PP as the lead singer of a famous historical rock group. Their VB either moved synchronously with their own movements (n = 20), or asynchronously (n = 20). Those in the Synchronous condition had greater body ownership over the VB. Moreover, in a later appearance on stage in front of a virtual audience, those in the Synchronous condition had greater vicarious agency with respect to their VB, were more likely to adopt the guitar playing posture of the VB and carry out greater movements than those in the Asynchronous group. Hence body ownership in the context of 1PP over the VB with synchrony was associated with vicarious agency and also behaviour concomitant with the concert situation. These findings highlight the powerful impact of embodied experiences on agency and action.
{"title":"Body ownership and vicarious Agency: Behavioural consequences in a virtual reality rock concert","authors":"Reiya Itatani , Gizem Senel , A.Sencer Topcu , Mel Slater","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103903","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103903","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Illusory body ownership, the sense that a life-sized virtual body seen from first person perspective (1PP) in virtual reality (VR), is your body, is a well-established result. Previous work has demonstrated that illusory body ownership also results in vicarious agency over actions of the virtual body (VB). Moreover, how those actions are carried out influences later real life behaviour. In our study participants entered a VR depicting a dressing room before a concert performance, embodied from 1PP as the lead singer of a famous historical rock group. Their VB either moved synchronously with their own movements (n = 20), or asynchronously (n = 20). Those in the Synchronous condition had greater body ownership over the VB. Moreover, in a later appearance on stage in front of a virtual audience, those in the Synchronous condition had greater vicarious agency with respect to their VB, were more likely to adopt the guitar playing posture of the VB and carry out greater movements than those in the Asynchronous group. Hence body ownership in the context of 1PP over the VB with synchrony was associated with vicarious agency and also behaviour concomitant with the concert situation. These findings highlight the powerful impact of embodied experiences on agency and action.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103903"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-18DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103904
Andrew M. Huebert , Sarah J. Myers , Anne M. Cleary
Déjà vu is the sensation that a situation feels familiar while believing that it has never been encountered before. An interesting facet of déjà vu is that it is often associated with an illusory sense of knowing what will happen next (feelings of prediction, or FOPs). Research has shown that déjà vu accompanied by FOPs carries with it higher perceived familiarity intensity than déjà vu unaccompanied by a FOP. However, these findings have mainly been correlational, making it unclear if the sense of familiarity itself plays a causal role in FOPs. In three experiments, we examined whether experimentally increasing familiarity can causally drive FOPs. In a variant of a method previously used to study déjà vu, participants completed virtual tours of novel scenes that each had their spatial layout familiarized to a different degree (a scene with a similar layout was earlier presented three times, once, or not at all). Participants were asked if the novel scene felt familiar, if they had a sense of what would happen next, and to predict what would happen. Participants were never asked about feelings of déjà vu to eliminate the possibility that prompting the déjà vu experience could lead participants to think they should respond a certain way to the other questions. When participants could not actually recall the similar studied scene, FOPs increased with increases in experimentally created spatial layout familiarity. These results suggest that familiarity-detection itself can produce FOPs during déjà vu, and potentially outside of déjà vu as well.
{"title":"Experimental evidence that illusory feelings of prediction can be caused by familiarity detection","authors":"Andrew M. Huebert , Sarah J. Myers , Anne M. Cleary","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103904","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103904","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Déjà vu is the sensation that a situation feels familiar while believing that it has never been encountered before. An interesting facet of déjà vu is that it is often associated with an illusory sense of knowing what will happen next (feelings of prediction, or FOPs). Research has shown that déjà vu accompanied by FOPs carries with it higher perceived familiarity intensity than déjà vu unaccompanied by a FOP. However, these findings have mainly been correlational, making it unclear if the sense of familiarity itself plays a causal role in FOPs. In three experiments, we examined whether experimentally increasing familiarity can causally drive FOPs. In a variant of a method previously used to study déjà vu, participants completed virtual tours of novel scenes that each had their spatial layout familiarized to a different degree (a scene with a similar layout was earlier presented three times, once, or not at all). Participants were asked if the novel scene felt familiar, if they had a sense of what would happen next, and to predict what would happen. Participants were never asked about feelings of déjà vu to eliminate the possibility that prompting the déjà vu experience could lead participants to think they should respond a certain way to the other questions. When participants could not actually recall the similar studied scene, FOPs increased with increases in experimentally created spatial layout familiarity. These results suggest that familiarity-detection itself can produce FOPs during déjà vu, and potentially outside of déjà vu as well.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103904"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103907
Derek H. Arnold , Loren N. Bouyer , Blake W. Saurels , Elizabeth Pellicano , D. Samuel Schwarzkopf
In mental rotation (MR) tasks people can be asked to decide if pairs of objects depicted from different viewpoints are the same, or different. A common response strategy is to visualise one of the two objects rotating, until it is visualised from the same viewpoint as the other object. However, some people, Congenital Aphants, assert that they cannot visualise, and yet they perform similarly on MR tasks. This could mean that Congenital Aphants are mistaken about their inability to visualise. Alternatively, we reasoned that MR tasks might be an unreliable metric of people’s propensity to rely on visualisation in MR tasks. In a sample of the general population, we had people report on their response strategies on a trial-by-trial basis. Neither people’s overall propensity to visualise nor their propensity to visualise on different viewpoint trials was related to viewpoint-contingent changes in MR task performance. There was only a weak association between viewpoint-contingent changes in MR task performance and viewpoint-contingent changes in the proportion of visualising trials. Overall, our data suggest that MR task performance is a weak measure of people’s propensity to visualise.
{"title":"Mental rotation is a weak measure of people’s propensity to visualise","authors":"Derek H. Arnold , Loren N. Bouyer , Blake W. Saurels , Elizabeth Pellicano , D. Samuel Schwarzkopf","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103907","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103907","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In mental rotation (MR) tasks people can be asked to decide if pairs of objects depicted from different viewpoints are the same, or different. A common response strategy is to visualise one of the two objects rotating, until it is visualised from the same viewpoint as the other object. However, some people, Congenital Aphants, assert that they cannot visualise, and yet they perform similarly on MR tasks. This could mean that Congenital Aphants are mistaken about their inability to visualise. Alternatively, we reasoned that MR tasks might be an unreliable metric of people’s propensity to rely on visualisation in MR tasks. In a sample of the general population, we had people report on their response strategies on a trial-by-trial basis. Neither people’s overall propensity to visualise nor their propensity to visualise on different viewpoint trials was related to viewpoint-contingent changes in MR task performance. There was only a weak association between viewpoint-contingent changes in MR task performance and viewpoint-contingent <em>changes</em> in the proportion of visualising trials. Overall, our data suggest that MR task performance is a weak measure of people’s propensity to visualise.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103907"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144653556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103905
Christopher M. Hill , Numa Samnani , Leo Barzi , Matt Wilson
Feeling in control of one’s actions is fundamental to the formation of action-outcome relationships. Reinforcement and its valence also change the action-outcome relationship, either through behavior promotion or diminishment. In this study we evaluated how reward and punishment reinforcement modulate sense of agency, as measured by intentional binding. Moreover, using electroencephalography (EEG) we evaluated how reward and punishment reinforcement changes outcome event related potentials associated with the accuracy of participants’ judgement of the time interval between a key press and audio tone. We found that punishment reinforcement increased intentional binding between the action and outcome more than reward but not significantly more than control feedback. Punishment elicited greater outcome event-related potentials, P300s and Late Positive Potential, compared to reward and control. We also found increased N100s and diminished P300s and Late Positive Potentials when the participants did not actively participate in evoking the tone. Taken together, our findings showcase that punishment reinforcement boosts sense of agency and modulates associated neural activity more than reward and no reinforcement, as a function of increasing attention and arousal. These findings illuminate the greater effect punishment reinforcement has on behavior and brain activity by its modification of sense of agency, which is important for the development of treatments in psychiatric and neurological diseases.
{"title":"Punishing temporal judgement boosts sense of agency and modulates its underlying neural correlates","authors":"Christopher M. Hill , Numa Samnani , Leo Barzi , Matt Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103905","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103905","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Feeling in control of one’s actions is fundamental to the formation of action-outcome relationships. Reinforcement and its valence also change the action-outcome relationship, either through behavior promotion or diminishment. In this study we evaluated how reward and punishment reinforcement modulate sense of agency, as measured by intentional binding. Moreover, using electroencephalography (EEG) we evaluated how reward and punishment reinforcement changes outcome event related potentials associated with the accuracy of participants’ judgement of the time interval between a key press and audio tone. We found that punishment reinforcement increased intentional binding between the action and outcome more than reward but not significantly more than control feedback. Punishment elicited greater outcome event-related potentials, P300s and Late Positive Potential, compared to reward and control. We also found increased N100s and diminished P300s and Late Positive Potentials when the participants did not actively participate in evoking the tone. Taken together, our findings showcase that punishment reinforcement boosts sense of agency and modulates associated neural activity more than reward and no reinforcement, as a function of increasing attention and arousal. These findings illuminate the greater effect punishment reinforcement has on behavior and brain activity by its modification of sense of agency, which is important for the development of treatments in psychiatric and neurological diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103905"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144604503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-07DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103901
Jussi Jylkkä , Hilla Väyrynen , Enyu Lin , Catharina Walldén , Andreas Krabbe , Juuso Kähönen , Pilleriin Sikka
Both psychedelic substances and meditation have been proposed to facilitate personally meaningful and transformative experiences, with insights playing a central role. However, previous research has mainly relied on questionnaires, limiting the range of insights that can be identified. In this study, we recruited participants who provided narrative reports of insights in personally meaningful psychedelic (n = 147) or meditation (n = 66) experiences. Psychedelic experiences were facilitated both by classic (e.g., LSD, psilocybin, DMT) as well as non-classic (e.g., MDMA, ketamine, cannabis) psychedelics. Qualitative analysis revealed three main insight themes: Mystical-type (subclasses Unity, Metaphysical, and Other), Psychological (subclasses Metacognitive, Value, and Compassion), and Philosophical-existential (subclasses Purpose, Value, and Other). Mystical-type insights were more frequent in reports of meditation experiences, while value insights were more common in psychedelic reports. Otherwise, the reported insights were highly similar across the two types of reports, and only minor differences were observed between classic and non-classic psychedelics. Regression analyses indicated that metacognitive and value insights were positively associated with perceived improvements in positive affect, while mystical-type insights predicted increased meaning in life. These findings suggest that both psychedelic substances and meditation can facilitate a broad range of insights that are not fully captured by existing questionnaires. The results highlight similarities between psychedelic and meditation experiences supporting the notion that transformative experiences are not exclusive to classic psychedelics but can be facilitated through various means.
{"title":"Meditation and psychedelics facilitate similar types of mystical, psychological, and philosophical-existential insights predictive of wellbeing: a qualitative-quantitative approach","authors":"Jussi Jylkkä , Hilla Väyrynen , Enyu Lin , Catharina Walldén , Andreas Krabbe , Juuso Kähönen , Pilleriin Sikka","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103901","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103901","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Both psychedelic substances and meditation have been proposed to facilitate personally meaningful and transformative experiences, with insights playing a central role. However, previous research has mainly relied on questionnaires, limiting the range of insights that can be identified. In this study, we recruited participants who provided narrative reports of insights in personally meaningful psychedelic (<em>n</em> = 147) or meditation (<em>n</em> = 66) experiences. Psychedelic experiences were facilitated both by classic (e.g., LSD, psilocybin, DMT) as well as non-classic (e.g., MDMA, ketamine, cannabis) psychedelics. Qualitative analysis revealed three main insight themes: Mystical-type (subclasses Unity, Metaphysical, and Other), Psychological (subclasses Metacognitive, Value, and Compassion), and Philosophical-existential (subclasses Purpose, Value, and Other). Mystical-type insights were more frequent in reports of meditation experiences, while value insights were more common in psychedelic reports. Otherwise, the reported insights were highly similar across the two types of reports, and only minor differences were observed between classic and non-classic psychedelics. Regression analyses indicated that metacognitive and value insights were positively associated with perceived improvements in positive affect, while mystical-type insights predicted increased meaning in life. These findings suggest that both psychedelic substances and meditation can facilitate a broad range of insights that are not fully captured by existing questionnaires. The results highlight similarities between psychedelic and meditation experiences supporting the notion that transformative experiences are not exclusive to classic psychedelics but can be facilitated through various means.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103901"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144570944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-28DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103902
Jei-Yi Lu, Chih-Chieh Chang, Tzu-Ling Chang, Wei-Lun Lin
Empirical evidence has demonstrated the beneficial effects of mindfulness in the enhancement of positive psychology factors and cognitive performances, as well as in the remission of psychological distress. Researchers have proposed mechanisms for mindfulness’ comprehensive effects, such as through mental flexibility, and examined indices of neurophysiological changes. This study provided a new neuroscientific index via the aid of a neurofeedback device to investigate the role of active cortical control and, hence, mental flexibility in Buddhist meditation practitioners as compared to nonpractitioners. Twenty-eight Buddhist meditation practitioners and 28 nonpractitioners proceeded individually with the EEG neurofeedback procedure as well as with the assessments of self-esteem, subjective well-being, and Buddhist mindfulness levels. The neurofeedback procedure was designed to provide signal feedback according to participants’ alpha brainwaves state, and participants were asked to maintain the appearance and disappearance of the signal as best as they could. The alpha transformation index was computed to measure the ability to voluntarily transition between their mental states. Our results showed that after controlling for age and gender, practitioners demonstrated a significantly higher alpha transformation index, indicating greater mental flexibility, along with enhanced self-esteem, life satisfaction, and lower negative affect as compared to nonpractitioners. The alpha transformation index was also significantly and positively correlated with Buddhist mindfulness levels and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that mindfulness might help improve the ability to switch between different mental processes via modulations of neural efficiency markers and exert its beneficial effects. The newly developed neuroscientific index also encourages future worthwhile investigations.
{"title":"Why is mindfulness helpful? Exploration of the flexibility of cortical control in practitioners of Buddhism","authors":"Jei-Yi Lu, Chih-Chieh Chang, Tzu-Ling Chang, Wei-Lun Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103902","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103902","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Empirical evidence has demonstrated the beneficial effects of mindfulness in the enhancement of positive psychology factors and cognitive performances, as well as in the remission of psychological distress. Researchers have proposed mechanisms for mindfulness’ comprehensive effects, such as through mental flexibility, and examined indices of neurophysiological changes. This study provided a new neuroscientific index via the aid of a neurofeedback device to investigate the role of active cortical control and, hence, mental flexibility in Buddhist meditation practitioners as compared to nonpractitioners. Twenty-eight Buddhist meditation practitioners and 28 nonpractitioners proceeded individually with the EEG neurofeedback procedure as well as with the assessments of self-esteem, subjective well-being, and Buddhist mindfulness levels. The neurofeedback procedure was designed to provide signal feedback according to participants’ alpha brainwaves state, and participants were asked to maintain the appearance and disappearance of the signal as best as they could. The alpha transformation index was computed to measure the ability to voluntarily transition between their mental states. Our results showed that after controlling for age and gender, practitioners demonstrated a significantly higher alpha transformation index, indicating greater mental flexibility, along with enhanced self-esteem, life satisfaction, and lower negative affect as compared to nonpractitioners. The alpha transformation index was also significantly and positively correlated with Buddhist mindfulness levels and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that mindfulness might help improve the ability to switch between different mental processes via modulations of neural efficiency markers and exert its beneficial effects. The newly developed neuroscientific index also encourages future worthwhile investigations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103902"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144510945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103892
Isabel T. Folger , Jared Medina
To induce the Anne Boleyn illusion, an individual’s hands are placed on either side of a mirror and stroked synchronously from the thumb to the empty space neighboring the reflected fifth finger, creating the perception of a supernumerary finger. The hidden fifth finger is stroked on the medial and lateral sides, which correspond to the fifth and “sixth” finger on the visible hand. The percept induced is robust enough to withstand biologically implausible manipulations that break other visuotactile illusions, making the illusion a promising avenue for exploring multisensory integration and illusory embodiment. The present study investigates three aspects of its underlying cognitive mechanisms. First, although embodiment was theorized to require tactile stimulation of two discrete fifth finger locations, we found that stroking only one location does not abolish or reduce the illusion. Second, manipulating the starting location of strokes produced differences in body part categorization of the percept, indicating the influence of top-down constraints from pre-existing body representations. Third, we aimed to identify factors underlying the illusion’s robustness to enhance our understanding of illusory embodiment mechanisms. We found support for the “anchoring” hypothesis, proposing that the sixth finger’s proximity to the real hand may be a critical factor.
{"title":"Anchoring to the hand, but not spatially distinct mappings, facilitates illusory supernumerary finger embodiment","authors":"Isabel T. Folger , Jared Medina","doi":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103892","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.concog.2025.103892","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To induce the Anne Boleyn illusion, an individual’s hands are placed on either side of a mirror and stroked synchronously from the thumb to the empty space neighboring the reflected fifth finger, creating the perception of a supernumerary finger. The hidden fifth finger is stroked on the medial and lateral sides, which correspond to the fifth and “sixth” finger on the visible hand. The percept induced is robust enough to withstand biologically implausible manipulations that break other visuotactile illusions, making the illusion a promising avenue for exploring multisensory integration and illusory embodiment. The present study investigates three aspects of its underlying cognitive mechanisms. First, although embodiment was theorized to require tactile stimulation of two discrete fifth finger locations, we found that stroking only one location does not abolish or reduce the illusion. Second, manipulating the starting location of strokes produced differences in body part categorization of the percept, indicating the influence of top-down constraints from pre-existing body representations. Third, we aimed to identify factors underlying the illusion’s robustness to enhance our understanding of illusory embodiment mechanisms. We found support for the “anchoring” hypothesis, proposing that the sixth finger’s proximity to the real hand may be a critical factor.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51358,"journal":{"name":"Consciousness and Cognition","volume":"133 ","pages":"Article 103892"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号