Robin L. Carhart-Harris, R. Leech, Peter J Hellyer
et al.
Entropy is a dimensionless quantity that is used for measuring uncertainty about the state of a system but it can also imply physical qualities, where high entropy is synonymous with high disorder. Entropy is applied here in the context of states of consciousness and their associated neurodynamics, with a particular focus on the psychedelic state. The psychedelic state is considered an exemplar of a primitive or primary state of consciousness that preceded the development of modern, adult, human, normal waking consciousness. Based on neuroimaging data with psilocybin, a classic psychedelic drug, it is argued that the defining feature of “primary states” is elevated entropy in certain aspects of brain function, such as the repertoire of functional connectivity motifs that form and fragment across time. Indeed, since there is a greater repertoire of connectivity motifs in the psychedelic state than in normal waking consciousness, this implies that primary states may exhibit “criticality,” i.e., the property of being poised at a “critical” point in a transition zone between order and disorder where certain phenomena such as power-law scaling appear. Moreover, if primary states are critical, then this suggests that entropy is suppressed in normal waking consciousness, meaning that the brain operates just below criticality. It is argued that this entropy suppression furnishes normal waking consciousness with a constrained quality and associated metacognitive functions, including reality-testing and self-awareness. It is also proposed that entry into primary states depends on a collapse of the normally highly organized activity within the default-mode network (DMN) and a decoupling between the DMN and the medial temporal lobes (which are normally significantly coupled). These hypotheses can be tested by examining brain activity and associated cognition in other candidate primary states such as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and early psychosis and comparing these with non-primary states such as normal waking consciousness and the anaesthetized state.
Antoine Bellemare‐Pepin, Mar Estarellas, Eldad Tsabary
Abstract In an era marked by increasing disconnection from nature, innovative approaches to reconnect with the environment are crucial for both ecological and psychological well‐being. This paper explores how natural environments (a deciduous forest of Quebec in the present case study) can serve as an improvisational space for shared creative embodiment, nurturing deeper connections between individuals, communities and the natural world. Grounded in the principles of embodied cognition and ecopsychology, we propose that nature plays an active role as a co‐creator in the creative process rather than simply serving as a backdrop for inspiration. Our research‐creation project, ‘Returning to the Trees’, serves as a case study illustrating how musical improvisation in a natural environment can transform creative practices. Participants engaged in a 90‐min session of musical improvisation within a forest setting, using traditional instruments and natural objects while exploring spontaneous, deconstructed modes of auditory expression. Through audio labeling using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, we identified expressions of sounds from the natural world, such as various animal calls, within the improvisations. Thematic and emotion analyses revealed that participants experienced heightened states of admiration, curiosity and joy, underscoring nature's ability to rejuvenate mental focus and promote emotional well‐being in the context of musical group improvisation. The project highlights nature's role as a safe space for co‐creation, allowing individuals to move beyond culturally ingrained behaviours and explore more authentic forms of expression. This study offers a novel perspective on the interplay between human creativity and the more‐than‐human world, contributing to the discourse on ecological psychology and embodied creative practices. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Mohamed S. Ameen, Joshua Jacobs, Manuel Schabus
et al.
Abstract The aperiodic (1/f-like) component of electrophysiological data, whereby power systematically decreases with increasing frequency, as quantified by the aperiodic exponent, has been shown to differentiate sleep stages. Previous studies typically measured this exponent over narrow frequency ranges and averaged across sleep stages. A systematic review following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, which identified 16 eligible studies examining aperiodic neural activity during sleep, revealed heterogeneous frequency ranges and methodological approaches across studies. Building on these insights, the present study expands the analysis to include wider frequency ranges and alternative models, such as detecting ‘knees’ in the aperiodic component, which reflect bends in the power spectrum indicating changes in the exponent. Additionally, we applied time-resolved analyses to examine the dynamic patterns of aperiodic activity during sleep. We analyzed data from two sources: intracranial EEG (iEEG) from 106 epilepsy patients and high-density EEG from 17 healthy individuals and compared different frequency ranges and model forms of aperiodic activity. Results showed that broadband aperiodic models and the inclusion of a ‘knee’ feature effectively captured sleep stage-dependent differences in aperiodic activity. The knee parameter exhibited stage-specific variations, indicating different processing timescales across sleep stages. Time-resolved analysis of the aperiodic exponent tracked sleep stage transitions and responses to external stimuli, highlighting rapidly varying temporal dynamics during sleep. These findings offer valuable insights into brain dynamics during sleep and reveal novel insights and interpretations for understanding aperiodic neural activity during sleep.
Axel Cleeremans, Axel Cleeremans, Liad Mudrik
et al.
Understanding the biophysical basis of consciousness remains a substantial challenge for 21st-century science. This endeavor is becoming even more pressing in light of accelerating progress in artificial intelligence and other technologies. In this article, we provide an overview of recent developments in the scientific study of consciousness and consider possible futures for the field. We highlight how several novel approaches may facilitate new breakthroughs, including increasing attention to theory development, adversarial collaborations, greater focus on the phenomenal character of conscious experiences, and the development and use of new methodologies and ecological experimental designs. Our emphasis is forward-looking: we explore what “success” in consciousness science may look like, with a focus on clinical, ethical, societal, and scientific implications. We conclude that progress in understanding consciousness will reshape how we see ourselves and our relationship to both artificial intelligence and the natural world, usher in new realms of intervention for modern medicine, and inform discussions around both nonhuman animal welfare and ethical concerns surrounding the beginning and end of human life.
A. G. Gorshenkov, G. G. Gorshenkov, G. N. Gorshenkov
Objective: to systematize knowledge about the information and criminological implications of the legal regulation in combating corruption and to develop proposals for the optimization of its legal means.Methods: a set of scientific cognition methods, including universal and formal-logical methods, primarily formal-legal, modeling, and idealization; a retrospective approach to studying the formation and development of interrelated criminological and political scientific trends, which facilitated the obtaining of this study results. The main scientific tool used was the analytical method.Results: a range of attributes was developed which characterizes the anti-corruption system and the information spectrum of its infrastructure related to three main types of activities: criminological, political, and managerial. Some of these attributes, which characterize the outlines of the emerging “support” concept in the considered system of functioning, were conceptualized and to a certain extent categorized. This, in turn, allowed defining the contours of the emerging system of instrumental knowledge that optimizes the scientific principle implementation in the political management of the anti-corruption system.Scientific novelty: the article presents the idea of conceptualizing scientific provisions regarding the information support of anti-corruption efforts, the mechanism of which has not established yet. In this regard, the authors considers the concepts in the technological area of the anti-corruption management system to be promising. Among them is the idea to introduce such legal mechanisms as criminological monitoring and criminological expertise, a type of which is implemented in the anti-corruption expertise. The article novelty also consists in an additional area of research, which is special preventive for corruption offenses, studied for their effectiveness and ability to ensure criminological security.Practical significance: the theoretical provisions developed in this study are designed to form scientific and criminological criticism in the professional legal consciousness, aimed at decision-making, selecting and implementing means and application technologies in the field of combating corruption.
Economics as a science, Law in general. Comparative and uniform law. Jurisprudence
Abstract Roubalová et al. (Anim Cogn 27(45), 2024) have written an intriguing paper in which they compare the acquired human speech patterns of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) raised as companion animals to those of typically developing human toddlers (Homo sapiens) predominantly raised by stay-at-home mothers; birds and humans were ostensibly matched for vocabulary size. The authors’ data collection and analyses are impressive and I applaud their efforts; however, I take exception to their assumptions, as they clearly state in their Introduction, that children and parrots received comparable input and their conclusions, also clearly stated, that the differences observed in initial output were a consequence primarily of human uniqueness—i.e., as they argue, “the sociocognitive specifics of the human language.” Contrary to the authors’ claims, the input received by the parrots was very likely quite impoverished when compared to that of the children. Moreover, the birds were acquiring a heterospecific communication code from heterospecific models whereas the children were learning a conspecific code from conspecifics; the birds’ experiences were therefore somewhat more like that of humans learning a second language without explicit instruction. Thus, the conclusions drawn from the authors’ meticulous research should be on how much communicative behavior parrots can acquire despite receiving input of inadequate quality and quantity, rather than on direct comparisons with human toddlers receiving optimal input.
Through a focus on artificial creativity (AC), creativity and innovation researchers, practitioners, and educators are beginning to demystify the phenomenon's liminality by exploring and contesting the potential affordances, constraints, and pitfalls brought about by the deployment of powerful AI models for creative endeavors. For the creativity community, AC as a sociotechnical network has become a deeply consternating and contested monster. Given the recency of AC, there has been little theorizing yet. My critical self-reflection paper seeks to understand the community's concerns and, thereby, to discern theoretical insights that conceptually contribute towards a theory of AC. Drawing on autoethnography, I identified three distinct perceived matters of concern represented by anthropomorphic personalities or faces of AC: Trickster, Surveyor, and Harbinger. The findings reveal that the Trickster is the most monstrous and disconcerting face of AC. It may be prankish or deceptive, but can also be beneficent and supportive. While the Surveyor provides surveillance, measurement, and calculation, the Harbinger announces competing future visions, one of utopian hope and the other of dystopian despair. I conclude by discussing the implications of three underlying theoretical variables: trust, creative value, and creative personal identity.
Abstract We are confronted with the concept of intelligence every day. Starting with human intelligence to artificial intelligence. Some animals are also attested to be intelligent based on specific problems they solve. We also come across terms such as swarm intelligence, emotional intelligence or even physical intelligence. But there is still a lack of a clear definition of what intelligence actually is and, in particular, how it could be measured. Intelligence tests that provide quantitative information have so far only been available from psychology and only for people. There is a lack of criteria for what makes a system an intelligent system. This became particularly clear with the question of whether generative AI, such as ChatGPT, can be considered intelligent at all. So can intelligence be derived from the cognitive abilities of a system, or is it ultimately decisive how these abilities come about? This paper suggests a definition of the term intelligence and suggests an explanation for what constitutes intelligence and to what extent intelligence is required to gain knowledge. And finally it is questioned whether artificial systems are intelligent and have any knowledge at all.
S. Medved, B. Aukst Margetić, A. Ražić Pavičić
et al.
Introduction
Liver transplantation (LT) is a crucial treatment for end-stage alcoholic liver disease, the most common liver disease in developed countries. Personality traits and cognition, a relatively stable characteristics, are known to be significantly associated with quality of life (QoL). However, how they impact QoL in long-term LT survivors is unclear.
Objectives
The study aimed to assess the associations between personality traits and cognition and their impact on the QoL in long-term LT survivors.
Methods
First time LT recipients due to end-stage alcohol liver disease without long-term complications were consecutively included during standard outpatient care. Sociodemographic and clinical data was collected. Personality traits were assessed using 50-item International Personality Item Pool of the Five-factor model (IPIP), cognition using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and QoL using EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D) questionnaire.
Results
Eighty-three participants were included (mean age 62.9±7.03y, 90.6% male). Median MMSE score was 27±2.00, and median years since LT 5±2.91. Significant positive associations were found between IPIP dimensions Extraversion (B=0.297, p<0.01), Agreeableness (B=0.384, p<0.01), Conscientiousness (B=0.511, p<0.01), and Emotional stability (B=0.432, p<0.01) with EQ-5D visual analogue scale (EQ VAS). IPIP dimension Conscientiousness (B=0.338, p<0.01) and Emotional Stability (B=0. 379, p<0.01) were significantly associated with descriptive dimension of EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3L). MMSE score was significantly associated with QoL (EQ-VAS B=0.291, p<0.01; EQ-5D-3L B=0.283, p<0.05, respectively). However, MMSE score was not shown to be a statistically significant predictor of QoL, whereas Consciousness was a significant predictor of EQ-VAS (β 1.404, t 3.125), and Emotional stability of EQ-5D-3L (β 0.011, t 2.132).
Conclusions
Some personality traits predicted QoL in long-term LT survivors. Therefore, assessment of personality traits should be considered as a part of pre-LT evaluation within a regular psychiatric clearance evaluation.
Disclosure of Interest
S. Medved: None Declared, B. Aukst Margetić: None Declared, A. Ražić Pavičić: None Declared, T. Filipec Kanižaj : None Declared, V. Medved Grant / Research support from: This work was done as a part of the “Genetic Background of End Stage Alcoholic Liver Disease and Liver Transplantation” study supported by the University of Zagreb, Croatia grant 2017 and 2018.
Richard Huyghe, Lucie Barque, François Delafontaine
et al.
Words with complex semantic types such as book are characterised by a multiplicity of interpretations that are not mutually exclusive (e.g., as a physical object and/or informational content). Their status with respect to lexical ambiguity is notoriously unclear, and it is debatable whether complex types are a particular form of polysemy (closely related to metonymy) or whether they belong to monosemy. In this study, we investigate the nature of complex types by conducting two experiments on ambiguous nouns in French. The first experiment collects speakers’ judgements about the sameness of meaning between different uses of complex-type, metonymic and monosemous words. The second experiment uses a priming paradigm and a sensicality task to investigate the online processing of complex-type words, as opposed to metonymic and monosemous words. Overall results indicate that, on a continuum of lexical ambiguity, complex types are closer to monosemy than to metonymy. The different interpretations of complex-type words are highly connected and fall under the same meaning, arguably in relation to a unique reference. These results suggest that complex types are associated with single underspecified entries in the mental lexicon. Moreover, they highlight the need for a model of lexical representations of ambiguous words that can account for the difference between complex types and metonymy.