Hasil untuk "Consciousness. Cognition"

L. M. Ward

E. Pace-Schott, J. Hobson

S. Brickley, I. Módy

Enas Lawrence, C. Coshall, R. Dundas et al.

Wendy D’Andrea, F Lavasani, Bradley C. Stolbach et al.

S. Shettleworth

R. Llinás, U. Ribary, D. Contreras et al.

Gunn Kim

We formulate a phenomenological effective field theory in which biological intelligence emerges as a macroscopic order parameter sustained by continuous metabolic flux. By modeling cognition as a coarse-grained neural activity field governed by a variational free energy, we derive closed-form expressions for information capacity and structural susceptibility using a Gaussian maximum entropy approximation. The theory predicts a universal algebraic divergence of the susceptibility, $χ\sim K^{-3/2}$, as the structural stiffness $K$ approaches the instability threshold. The exponent $γ= 3/2$ is consistent with the mean-field branching process universality class, thereby providing a theoretical rationale for the observed avalanche size exponent $τ\approx 3/2$ in cortical dynamics without invoking microscopic equivalence. We identify adult cognition as a metabolically pinned non-equilibrium steady state maintained near the critical regime $Γ\equiv K/α\approx 1$ by continuous metabolic regulation, while pathological decline corresponds to a delocalization transition triggered by the violation of structural stability conditions. The framework generates concrete, falsifiable predictions for attention scaling, altered states of consciousness, and transcranial magnetic stimulation responses, each of which can be tested against existing neuroimaging and electrophysiological datasets.

Ouxun Jiang, Camillia Matuk, Madhumitha Gopalakrishnan et al.

Abstract Data visualizations are used widely to help people see patterns in data across research, policy, education, and business. Computer screens allow these visualizations to become animated, which can effectively show processes of change. While animations can be engaging, ineffective design can also make them confusing or overwhelming. We develop new guidelines for designing effective animated data visualizations by reviewing 40 real-world visualization examples, and categorizing the visual tasks people perform when viewing them. These categories include tracking tasks, holistic judgments, and noticing objects added to or removed from a display. We then evaluate the known capacity limits of each task from human motion processing literature and use these to inform design techniques that enable visualizations to respect these capacity limits. Together, the tasks, limits, and corresponding techniques form new, broadly applicable guidelines that should help designers create effective animated visualizations informed by theory of human perception.

Mark Orr, Drew Cranford, Ken Ford et al.

We offer a comment on the Centaur (Binz et al., 2025) transformer-based model of human behavior. In particular, Centaur was cast as a path towards unified theories of cognition. We offer a counter claim with supporting argument: Centaur is a path divergent from unified theories of cognition, one that moves towards a unified model of behavior sans cognition.

Ilia Sucholutsky, Katherine M. Collins, Nori Jacoby et al.

LLMs are already transforming the study of individual cognition, but their application to studying collective cognition has been underexplored. We lay out how LLMs may be able to address the complexity that has hindered the study of collectives and raise possible risks that warrant new methods.

E. N. Gnatik, V. M. Naidysh

In connection with the rapid development of cognitive sciences in epistemology, philosophy of consciousness, realistic concepts of cognition are actualized, and with them, interest in the theory of reflection, its current state, is growing again. The article analyzes the main paradigms of the theory of reflection, the paths of their historical development and its current problems. The importance of the transition from the subject-centric to the system-centric paradigm of understanding reflection is emphasized, in which it appears as a complex systemic process, the activity of which is predetermined by the structure and history of the reflecting system. It is noted that in biological evolution, the activity of reflection developed in the direction of increasing the subject’s control over the process of reflection itself, improving the ability to separate objective and subjective moments of reflection. On this path, two relatively independent subsystems of mental reality were formed – the image of the external environment and the image of the internal states of the subject’s psyche. With the help of memory, the image of the external environment was accumulated in external experience, which serves as the basis of cognitive reality. The image of internal states accumulated in internal experience, which is the basis of semantic reality, expressed by the sensory-emotional states of the subject, closely related to the need-motivational sphere of the psyche. In the light of the system-centric methodology, consciousness appears as an integral quality of the functional activity of the brain, emergent in relation to such activity. Based on the system-centric methodology, the issues of synthesis of the principles of reflection and activity are analyzed, the content of the concept of the fundamental relationship of consciousness is revealed, the concept of semantic reality, the dialectic of cognitive and semantic functionals in the activity of consciousness are analyzed. It is emphasized that the semantic functionality of consciousness is formed on the basis of the needs, interests, goals of the subject and is able to manifest the personal context of consciousness, the subjective side of human life. The article shows that modern problems and dead ends of cognitive psychology are precisely associated with ignoring the patterns of the relationship between cognitive and semantic functionals in the activity of consciousness.

Sudhakar Deeti, Ken Cheng

Abstract Solitarily foraging ants learn to navigate between important locations by comparing their current view with memorized scenes along a familiar route. As desert ants, in particular, travel between their nest and a food source, they establish stable and visually guided routes that guide them without relying on trail pheromones. We investigated how changes in familiar visual scenes affect the navigation of the red honey ant (Melophorus bagoti). In Experiment 1, ants were trained to follow a one-way diamond-shaped path to forage and return home. We manipulated scene familiarity by adding a board on their homebound route just before the nest. In Experiment 2, ants were trained to travel a straight path from their nest to a feeder, and we removed the prominent landmarks on the route after they had established a stable route. We predicted that these scene changes would cause the ants to deviate from their usual straight paths, slow down, scan more, and increase their lateral oscillations to gather additional information. Our findings showed that when the familiar scene was changed, ants oscillated more, slowed their speed, and increased scanning bouts, indicating a shift from exploiting known information to more actively exploring and learning new visual cues. These results suggest that scene familiarity plays a crucial role in ant navigation, and changes in their visual environment lead to distinct behavioral adaptations aimed at learning about the new cues.

Sydney F. Hope, Sangpa Dittakul, Marnoch Yindee et al.

Abstract The ability to prepare for mutually-exclusive outcomes is critical for future planning. Recently, the thought that this ability may be unique to humans has been questioned. Even if non-human animals cannot individually plan for mutually-exclusive outcomes, groups of individuals may be able to coordinate their behavior to do so collectively. Here, we tested 12 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), both individually and in pairs, using a forked tube task—adapted from one used with children and non-human apes—where a food reward is dropped down a tube and exits from one of two openings. The consistent, simultaneous covering of both openings to obtain the reward is evidence of an understanding of mutually-exclusive outcomes. One elephant—Nammei—learned to manipulate her trunk in a scooping motion to autonomously cover both openings, and then performed this behavior relatively consistently to successfully obtain the food reward at a rate significantly greater than chance (61.5%). In addition, pairs of elephants obtained the food reward at a rate significantly greater than that at which individuals could do by chance (i.e., either elephant ate the food in 60.1% of pair trials). However, Nammei eventually reverted to covering only one opening, and pairs did not achieve complete coordination—in fact, both openings were covered in only 35.0% of pair trials. Therefore, our results fall short of providing compelling evidence for either individual or collective planning for mutually-exclusive outcomes in elephants. However, the interesting behaviors that we observed suggest that this is a promising area for future research.

Gema Martin-Ordas

Abstract Being able to abstract relations of similarity is considered one of the hallmarks of human cognition. Importantly, previous research has shown that other animals—both vertebrates (e.g., primates) and invertebrates (e.g., bees)— are capable of spontaneously attending to relational similarity in spatial mapping tasks. These tasks require individuals to find a reward in an array of, for example, three objects, after observing a reward being hidden in a different array of three objects. Studies with primates have shown that performance in this type of task is influenced by the distribution of the objects in the arrays. Here I investigated whether wild bumblebees’ relational abilities are also affected by the spatial complexity of the arrays (i.e., three horizontally aligned stimuli). In Experiment 1, bees were presented with two arrays separately: in one condition, the arrays were placed next to each other (forming a line) and in the other, the arrays were placed in two different rows. In Experiment 2, the two arrays were also placed in two rows, but the rows were misaligned. Bees succeeded in both Experiments and in the three different distributions of the arrays. The results suggest that bees were comparing the two arrays and recognized the common relational features in both arrays. Studies like the ones presented here highlight the importance of studying social insects to understand the evolution of cognition.

Kalkidan Hassen Abate Abate, Demuma Amdisa, Fira Abamecha et al.

Psychoactive substances alter perception, mood, cognition, or consciousness and include a wide range of compounds such as alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, and khat. Substance use among college and university students is associated with significant health issues, academic struggles, and premature death. This scoping review examines digital health interventions, including mobile and internet platforms, targeting substance use reduction among college students in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A comprehensive search across databases such as PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Google Scholar identified 8 eligible studies conducted across seven countries between 2013 and 2025. These studies focused primarily on alcohol use and included digital health tools like instant messaging, Telegram applications, text messaging, and web-based interventions. The results suggest that digital health technologies can effectively motivate college students in LMICs to reduce or abstain from psychoactive substance use. However, there is a notable research gap in evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility of these tools, especially mobile text messaging, which remains one of the most widely used methods in LMICs. The review highlights the need for further research, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, to better understand the impact of digital health interventions on substance use reduction and to develop evidence-based programs for behavior change.

Jipeng Duan, Yinfeng Hu, Wenying Zhou et al.

Abstract People tend to generalize the actions of known group members to new ones when they are both members of the same group. This study was conducted to investigate how the prevalence of specific actions among multiple individuals determines action generalization within social groups. We propose that people rely on the belief that group members work toward a shared goal (i.e., shared-goal belief) to guide action generalization. Consequently, the extent of action generalization may not consistently increase with the sampled prevalence of group members performing the same goal-directed action, resulting in a deviation from graded action generalization (i.e., nongraded action generalization). Experiment 1 revealed that the more participants believed that group members pursued a shared goal, the greater the likelihood that nongraded action generalization would occur. In Experiment 2, experimental manipulation weakened the strength of the shared-goal belief and led to a graded pattern of action generalization with accumulated evidence of action prevalence. These findings suggest that a shared-goal belief within groups significantly shapes action generalization beyond the mere influence of sampled action prevalence. Social groups not only provide a framework for selecting evidence for action generalization but also shape prior beliefs that influence our expectations of others’ actions.

Matthew Goldreich

This conceptual study examines Matte Blanco’s system of bi-logic as a novel framework for understanding psychedelic altered states of consciousness. The initial point of departure is a consideration of the complex historical relationship between psychoanalysis and psychedelics, prompting a review of contemporary psychoanalytic and neuropsychoanalytic perspectives on psychedelic action. This leads into an exposition of bi-logic, which reformulates Freud’s conception of conscious and unconscious processes in terms of logico-mathematical principles, postulating binary modes of mental functioning: the asymmetrical mode of being, characterized by logic, differentiation, ordered relations in space and time, and cognition; and the symmetrical mode of being, characterized by symmetry, generalization, unity, spacelessness, timelessness, paradox, and boundless affect. The ‘bi-logic account’ elaborated here posits that psychedelic altered states tend towards the symmetrical mode of being: psychedelics shift the balance between these modes such that the symmetrical mode is increasingly prevalent in subjective experience and influential in mental functioning compared with ordinary states of consciousness. Having delineated this framing, its heuristic value in relation to the therapeutic use of psychedelics is discussed, particularly in the context of psychoanalytically-informed psychedelic therapy. Bi-logic is anticipated to contribute to a conceptual container which facilitates greater receptivity to, and integration of, experiences marked by intense affect, paradox, and the dissolution of self-other boundaries.

A. Fenigstein, P. Vanable

J. Bargh