This paper presents a version of neurophenomenology based on generative modelling techniques developed in computational neuroscience and biology. We call this approach computational phenomenology because it applies methods originally developed in computational modelling to phenomenology. The first section presents a brief review of the project to naturalize phenomenology. The second section presents and evaluates philosophical objections to that project, and situates our project with respect to these projects. The third section reviews the generative modelling framework. The following section presents our new approach to neurophenomenology based on generative modelling. We then discuss how this application of generative modelling differs from previous attempts to use it to explain consciousness. In summary, generative modelling allows us to construct a computational model of the inferential or interpretive process that best explain this or that kind of lived experience.
There is growing evidence for the safety and efficacy of psychedelic therapy in mental health care. What is less understood however, is how psychedelics act to yield therapeutic results. In this paper we propose that psychedelics act as destabilisers — both in a psychological and a neurophysiological sense. Our proposed framework builds on the ‘entropic brain’ hypothesis, according to which psychedelics increase the entropy of spontaneous cortical activity and, in parallel, the richness or depth of content of psychological experience. The so-called ‘RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics’ (REBUS) model is a predictive-coding inspired extension to this hypothesis, which states that psychedelics’ entropic action is paralleled by a relaxation of prior assumptions. Here we adopt a complex systems theory (CST) perspective, proposing that psychedelics act as destabilisers of excessively reinforced fixed points — or ‘attractors’ — which translates as the breaking of excessively reinforced or overweighted patterns of thinking or behaving. Our CST approach explains how psychedelic-induced increases in brain entropy destabilise neurophysiological set-points that are synonymous with overweighted priors, thereby augmenting and enriching the account given by REBUS. We believe that this perspective helps inspire conceptualisations of psychedelic psychotherapy — bearing relevance both to the peak psychedelic experience and subsequent sub-acute period of potential recovery. We discuss implications for risk mitigation and treatment optimization in psychedelic medicine.
Recent research has demonstrated the potential of psychedelic therapy for mental health care. However, the psychological experience underlying its therapeutic effects remains poorly understood. This paper proposes a framework that suggests psychedelics act as destabilizers, both psychologically and neurophysiologically. Drawing on the ‘entropic brain’ hypothesis and the ‘RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics’ model, this paper focuses on the richness of psychological experience. Through a complex systems theory perspective, we suggest that psychedelics destabilize fixed points or attractors, breaking reinforced patterns of thinking and behaving. Our approach explains how psychedelic-induced increases in brain entropy destabilize neurophysiological set points and lead to new conceptualizations of psychedelic psychotherapy. These insights have important implications for risk mitigation and treatment optimization in psychedelic medicine, both during the peak psychedelic experience and during the subacute period of potential recovery.
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