Consciousness Expansion Science investigates the quantifiable shifts in subjective awareness, perception, and self-referential processing that extend beyond typical baseline states. Within a scientific framework, this involves exploring neurophysiological correlates of altered states of consciousness, often linked to profound changes in brain network connectivity. This area seeks to understand the limits of human subjective experience through objective measurement. It explores the brain’s capacity for novel informational integration.
Origin
The term’s roots lie in early phenomenological reports and philosophical inquiry into altered states, later integrating with modern neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and contemplative traditions. Its modern scientific application often involves studying the Default Mode Network (DMN) dynamics. In the context of hormonal health, it explores how endocrine shifts might alter the subjective experience of reality.
Mechanism
These expansive states are hypothesized to involve transient alterations in thalamocortical connectivity, leading to reduced filtering of sensory or internal data streams. Changes in specific neuromodulators, potentially influenced by shifts in steroid hormone receptor activity or specific neurotransmitter profiles, facilitate this broader informational access. The mechanism centers on transiently lowering the brain’s predictive processing constraints.
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