Consciousness and Cognition

Plant Awareness Disparity (PAD) refers to the inability of humans to notice plants and recognize their importance. Among the various factors (e.g., cultural) contributing to PAD, the less prominent visual cues of plants (e.g., color) might be one of the main features making them less noticeable to human perception. Here, we investigated whether PAD affects basic numerosity perception, which represents a fundamental cognitive ability that allows individuals to interpret and interact with their surroundings. Across three experiments, we compared how participants perceive the numerosity of plants (specifically trees), animals, and minerals. Participants completed two tasks: an estimation task, in which they reported the exact number of items in a single set and a comparison task, which required them to discriminate numerosity between two sets of items. In Experiment 1, both tasks employed colored images. We hypothesized that participants would underestimate the number of plant items in comparison to animals and minerals, given that plant stimuli typically attract less attention. In Experiment 2, black and white images were used to test whether the green color of plants contributes to PAD. In Experiment 3, all items were rotated of 180{degrees} to disrupt semantic recognition and assess whether PAD arises from higher-level cognitive processes. Results revealed a consistent underestimation of plants in Experiment 1 and 2, but this effect diminished in Experiment 3. The reduction of this effect suggests that semantic recognition processes may contribute to PAD. These results highlight how cognitive biases toward plants can influence basic perceptual judgments essential for everyday functioning.

Virtual Reality (VR) applications depend on eliciting spatial presence, the subjective experience of being physically located within a virtual environment. Although individual differences have long been theorised to contribute to this experience, their role in highly immersive VR systems remains contested. The present study investigated whether trait absorption predicts spatial presence and whether this relationship is mediated by attention allocation. Seventy participants (44 female, 26 male; M age = 22.90, SD = 4.88) completed a 6-minute VR session using a Meta Quest 3 Head-Mounted Display and validated self-report measures of trait absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale), attention allocation, and spatial presence (MEC-Spatial Presence Questionnaire). Path analysis confirmed a significant, complete mediation pathway: trait absorption positively predicted attention allocation ({beta} = 0.27, p = .013), which in turn strongly predicted spatial presence ({beta} = 0.54, p < .001). The direct path from absorption to spatial presence was non-significant ({beta} = 0.11, p = .325), indicating complete mediation. The indirect effect was significant ({beta} = 0.15; 95% BCa CI [0.025, 0.291]). The model explained a sizeable 33.8% of the variance in spatial presence (Cohens f{superscript 2} = 0.51). Post-hoc dose-response analysis revealed that trait absorption acts as a cognitive amplifier: the strength of the attention-presence relationship tripled from low-absorption ({beta} = 0.33, R{superscript 2} = .15) to high-absorption individuals ({beta} = 1.00, R{superscript 2} = .56). These findings demonstrate that individual differences remain important in highly immersive VR by modulating the effectiveness of attentional focus, offering promising directions for tailoring VR interventions.

How does the structure of events influence the when and the where of experience in comparison to the what? We developed a novel virtual reality (VR) environment to understand how the quantity of information within nested structures influence participants memory for events. Participants moved through a series of virtual rooms (events) where images (items) appeared in randomised locations on a 3 by 3 grid located on a wall. Participants were asked to remember the what (old/new), when (timeline location), and where (grid location), of the images they experienced. Two types of nested events were tested (6 rooms, each containing 4 images; 3 rooms, each containing 8 images) without a difference in the number of seconds of presentation. We found a strong temporal compression effect at nested levels in which participants remembered early items and events happening later, and later items and events happening earlier, than the original experience. Crucially, presenting four-item events resulted in a greater compression rate than eight-item events. We also found greater temporal distances between pairs of items occurring within eight-item events than pairs of items which occurred on either side of a boundary. Memory for when depends on the compression of information within events.

Can we rescue a percept that would otherwise be processed non-consciously? While pre-stimulus alerting is known to facilitate conscious access, the effects of retro-cues remain ambiguous due to methodological confounds in existing literature. Specifically, most studies finding retro-cue benefits have relied on spatial features (such as lateralized targets or cues) which confound alerting with spatial selection. Our design addresses this gap by employing central visual targets and non-lateralized auditory cues, thereby isolating the temporal boost of phasic alerting from spatial orienting. Across four experiments, participants reported the presence and orientation of a central Gabor patch presented at near-threshold ([~]50% detection) or higher visibility ([~]75% detection) levels. An auditory alerting tone was presented prior, simultaneously or after the Gabor, at various short and long stimulus onset asynchronies, with both short and long temporal ranges. Results consistently showed that pre-stimulus and simultaneous cues significantly enhanced conscious perception, increasing both seen rates and (in some experiments) perceptual sensitivity. Crucially, the effectiveness of retro-cues strictly depended on stimulus visibility. While retro-cues provided no benefit under near-threshold conditions, an alerting cue presented 200 ms after target offset significantly increased the proportion of seen targets when target visibility was higher. This suggests that a sufficiently robust sensory trace can be retrospectively rescued or promoted into awareness by a late alerting boost, and that pure alerting retro-cues are able to modulate conscious perception even when no spatial features are involved. These findings demonstrate a decoupling of stimulus onset from the timing of conscious access, providing a behavioural platform to arbitrate between competing models of consciousness such as the Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and the phenomenal/access distinction of consciousness.

Sense of agency (SoA), the experience of controlling ones actions and their consequences, is crucial for self-representation and adaptive goal-directed behavior. Classic comparator models explain SoA as the match between predicted and actual sensorimotor outcomes, whereas inference-based and Bayesian accounts emphasize cue integration and probabilistic weighting. Besides the influence of action-outcome contingencies on SoA, the feedback effect of perceived SoA on cognitive processing is also crucial for cognitive performance. Much of todays cognitive work is performed through interaction with devices that are not entirely reliable or are prone to operator error. Against this background, it is of particular interest whether the impact of an expectancy violation differs depending on whether the outcome is attributed to a malfunctioning system or to ones own mistake. To investigate this, the present EEG study deploys manipulated performance feedback in a color-discrimination task, while EEG was recorded. Thirty-five participants performed in this task with periods of veridical feedback, periods with feedback simulating an increased error rate, and periods of feedback suggesting malfunctioning response buttons. Behavioral performance was decomposed using the EZ-diffusion model, and time-frequency EEG analyses focused on event-related alpha, beta, and theta oscillations. The participants responded significantly slower in the self-attribution of errors condition compared to neutral feedback, and also significantly slower in the system-attribution of errors condition compared to self-attribution of errors. Decomposing behavior using drift-diffusion modeling indicates that a general decrease of response times with manipulated feedback can be attributed to decreased drift rates, whereas the difference between the self and system error conditions are reflected in the non-decision time. In the EEG, the manipulated feedback was reflected in attenuated decreases of occipital alpha and sensorimotor beta power during the cue-target interval. Furthermore, system-versus self-attributed errors elicited stronger feedback-locked midfrontal theta responses. Our findings suggest a functional dissociation within the agency inference process, where perceived controllability regulates preparatory investment of cognitive resources, while the attribution of action-outcome discrepancies seem to modulate sensory processes or motor-execution.

When individuals view the same visual input, they often differ in their aesthetic appeal judgments, yet why people differ remains largely unclear. Here, we tested whether individual differences in aesthetic experience are linked to differences in visual exploration. In two experiments, participants watched the documentary "Home" while their eye movements were recorded. In Experiment 1, participants continuously rated aesthetic experience throughout the movie, whereas in Experiment 2, they watched the first half without a task and rated aesthetic experience only during the second half. Inter-individual similarity in gaze patterns, assessed using fixation heatmaps across time, predicted similarity in aesthetic appeal judgments in both experiments. Notably, in Experiment 2, gaze similarity during free viewing in the first half of the movie predicted similarity in aesthetic ratings during the second half, indicating that incidental eye movement patterns predict aesthetic experiences. Together, these results show that shared gaze patterns are linked to shared aesthetic experiences under naturalistic, dynamic viewing conditions.

Introduction Experiential acceptance refers to the capacity to be open to internal experiences without attempting to change or avoid them. Although acceptance is a core emotion regulation strategy within mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions (MABIs) and a protective factor for mental health, its conceptualization and implementation remain unclear and ambiguous. The aim of this study was to clarify and develop a comprehensive model of accepting anxiety. Method Twenty-six participants from a non-clinical sample with prior experience in MABIs took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their experience of accepting anxiety. Data collection and analysis followed the principles of Grounded Theory to generate a data-driven model of the acceptance process. Results We identified a five-stage dynamic model involving distinct processes: (Stage 1) observing through the body with attentional focus on interoceptive experience; (Stage 2) identifying and acknowledging anxiety; (Stage 3) validating and normalizing the experience through validation and self-compassion; (Stage 4) not reacting characterized by decentering and nonreactivity; and (Stage 5) staying with the experience via exposure. We also identified facilitating factors that support engagement in the acceptance process. Conclusion These findings refine the understanding of acceptance as a multidimensional emotion regulation process by highlighting an active dynamic involving multiple mechanisms underlying the acceptance of anxiety. This model provides a framework for developing more targeted clinical interventions and for investigating individual and contextual variability in these subprocesses.

Visual perception of symbolic numerals is essential for everyday tasks; however, the neural and perceptual mechanisms underlying this ability remain unclear. Partially occluded digital numerals can elicit bistable perception, and adaptation to symbolic numerals alters the perception of these ambiguous stimuli. We aimed to examine how symbolic numeral adaptation is related to hierarchical visual processing by testing its interocular and interhemifield transfer. Experiment 1 tested interocular transfer by presenting the test stimulus to either the same or opposite eye as the adaptation stimulus. Experiment 2 assessed interhemifield transfer by presenting the test stimulus to either the same or opposite hemifield as the adaptation stimulus. Experiment 3 examined the interhemifield transfer of adaptation confined to the upper parts of digital numerals. Our results showed that adaptation to digital numerals induced shifted perceptual interpretations that transferred across eyes. In addition, we found that adaptation to digital numerals induced a relatively small but statistically significant interhemifield transfer. In contrast, adaptation restricted to the upper parts of digital numerals showed no significant interhemifield transfer. These findings suggest that the perceptual interpretation of symbolic numerals involves visual processing stages that integrate information across the eyes and hemifields.

The ability to generate novel creative ideas (divergent thinking) is closely linked with our ability to imagine novel future events (episodic simulation). Here, we employed an individual differences approach to examine whether divergent thinking and episodic simulation are differentially associated with episodic and semantic retrieval ability. In response to object word cues, participants generated meanings and definitions (semantic memory), remembered a past event (episodic memory), imagined a novel future event (episodic simulation), or generated novel uses (divergent thinking). Replicating previous findings, divergent thinking ability was predicted by the number of episodic details generated during episodic simulation. When directly comparing episodic and semantic memory, the strongest predictor of divergent thinking was semantic memory. In contrast, episodic simulation ability was predicted by both episodic and semantic memory. We interpret these findings as support for the semantic scaffold hypothesis of imagination, according to which semantic memory provides the necessary scaffold or framework for flexible expressions of cognition such as divergent thinking and episodic simulation. As episodic simulation, relative to divergent thinking, was associated with both episodic and semantic retrieval, these findings are taken to reflect common reliance on event construction processes recruited during both episodic remembering and imagining.

Burnout, a state of chronic exhaustion often characterized by feelings of emotional exhaustion, cognitive and emotional dysregulation, and psychological distancing, is an increasingly recognized issue within most professions. This syndrome results in diminished job satisfaction, strained interpersonal relationships, and decreased well-being. Socio-demographic factors have been shown to play a role in burnout risk, while trait mindfulness has been identified as an effective method to mitigate it. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of burnout risk and its relationship with mindfulness and socio-demographics among medical researchers. An anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey was administered to corresponding authors published in MEDLINE. The survey consisted of screening and socio-demographic questions, as well as validated assessment tools (i.e., shortened work-related Burnout Assessment Tool [BAT-12] and shortened Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory [FMI-14]). Responses were analysed according to the BAT and FMI guidelines, alongside regression analyses. A total of 1,732 participants completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 1.88%. Overall, 38.8% of participants were at risk or at very high risk of burnout, and the mean mindfulness score was 37.51. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that sex, age, and employment status were significant predictors of burnout risk, while age and region significantly predicted mindfulness. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that, after controlling for socio-demographic variables, mindfulness was a strong and independent negative predictor of burnout risk. These findings on burnout risk and the influence of mindfulness and socio-demographics could guide future research in developing tailored interventions and policies that improve the well-being of medical researchers.

Humanity has always admired and created artwork, but the neurocognitive mechanisms behind artistic experience are still elusive. Professional artists and their intimate relationship with their artworks provide a unique opportunity to study the nature of art experience due to their expertise in both art making and art appreciation. During two fMRI tasks, professional artists (N=20) made aesthetic judgments on their own and other artists paintings (aesthetic appreciation task); they also mentally reconstructed the moments when they conceived their artworks or, as a control condition, when they visited now-familiar places for the first time (reconstruction by imagery task). During art appreciation of their own (as compared to other artists) paintings, participants showed stronger recruitment of bilateral posterior parietal cortices, the left lateral occipitotemporal cortex, and the dorso-central sector of the right insula, that is, action-related brain regions also involved in encoding the emotional components of movements. The reconstruction of their own artistic creation (as compared to episodic memory retrieval) involved the left fronto-parietal network associated with motor cognition. Altogether, these results suggest that the mental representations of the actions involved in creating art are integral to the overall artistic experience of painters, supporting an embodied view of the artists experience of art.

Stored memories are useless unless they are available for retrieval. Thus, investigating different ways to modulate retrieval is crucial. Novelty has been extensively studied as a modulator of memory. In this study, we investigated whether exposure to a novel event, an innovative neuroscience lesson, can enhance memory retrieval and divergent thinking in high school students. Across three experiments, we assessed the timing and mechanisms underlying these effects. In experiment 1, we found that memory retrieval was enhanced when the novel lesson occurred immediately before a memory test, but not when it was presented one hour earlier. In experiment 2, we found that the same immediate novelty exposure improved divergent thinking performance. Finally, in experiment 3, we explored potential shared mechanisms using a competition protocol and revealed that novelty improved divergent thinking regardless of its timing relative to memory retrieval. However, memory retrieval benefited only when tested immediately before the divergent thinking task. These results suggest that novelty boosts both memory retrieval and divergent thinking, but through partially distinct mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate that a simple, real-world classroom intervention can effectively enhance key cognitive functions in students. Significance StatementStored memories are only valuable if they can be retrieved, and memory retrieval plays a key role in creative thinking. Here, we tested whether a simple, novel event, a neuroscience lesson, could enhance memory retrieval and creative thinking in a real-world classroom setting. We found that novelty improved both memory retrieval and divergent thinking, an aspect of creative thinking, when presented immediately before the task. Finally, we revealed a non-reciprocal competition effect between memory retrieval and divergent thinking. These findings highlight a practical, low-cost intervention to boost key cognitive functions in students, demonstrating that brief, well-timed novel experiences can support both learning and creative thinking in educational environments.

Suddenly finding the solution to a problem after a period of impasse often comes with a feeling of insight. This subjective experience is proposed to arise as a consequence of prediction errors. Accordingly, previous studies have revealed that more incorrect initial predictions result in more intense insights. Crucially however, prominent models of Bayesian inference suggest levels of computationally-defined surprise are not a simple feature of distance between predictions and inputs, but also their precision or certainty. Yet, how these two factors interact to give rise to insight experiences remains unknown. In this pre-registered study, participants were exposed to ambiguous images while they tried to guess the correct label of the image (to derive prediction accuracy) and rated their confidence in that label (for prediction uncertainty). We then measured the intensity of their insight when a solution was given. As predicted, we found that the intensity of insight was a result of both the prediction accuracy and the uncertainty awarded to it. More specifically, when initial predictions were far from the true label, those made with lower confidence induced weaker insights, while the opposite pattern was observed when predictions were closer to the reality. Trial-by-trial estimations of prediction errors from participants responses closely mirrored insight ratings. Finally, we analysed data from two additional independent datasets with different modalities and setups and replicated the interaction between prediction accuracy and uncertainty on the intensity of insight. Altogether, these findings suggest that insight experiences are read out from prediction errors and highlight the key role of uncertainty in characterising this relationship.

Choice overload occurs when an ever-growing number of options impairs decision quality, because evaluating options taxes cognitive resources. We investigated whether reducing cognitive demand could mitigate overload by encouraging greater cognitive effort to achieve optimal choice. We conducted two experiments manipulating cognitive demand in complementary ways: Experiment 1 reduced demand by presenting high-attractiveness sets, and Experiment 2 did so by providing a shortlist tool. In both experiments, participants chose from sets of 6-24 options while their eye-gaze and electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded. We found that reducing demand made decisions faster, but did not improve choice performance as set-size increased. Under low-demand conditions, eye-gaze measures revealed narrower search and EEG measures showed reduced working memory engagement per option, together indicating less searching and processing efforts. These results suggest that even with reduced cognitive demand, people coast through easier decisions, conserving effort and leaving the choice overload effect largely intact.

Humans can predict an objects motion better if its movements are consistent with gravity. Here we investigate whether this may be due to an internalized strong Earth gravity prior or to vestibular cues reporting instantaneous information about gravity. These two directions can be separated using virtual reality by providing strong visual cues to the direction of up which may or may not be aligned with true gravity. Participants were presented with a ball travelling on a parabola path simulated with either downward acceleration created by simulated Earths gravity (1g) or inverted gravity (-1g) resulting in the ball curving upwards. In both types of trial, the ball disappeared at between 57.5% and 75% of its full trajectory - after it had started its descent in the case of 1g or ascent in the case of -1g. Participants pressed a mouse button when they judged the ball to have got back to the height at which it was launched. Participants were either standing or supine. There were no differences in the estimated time to reach the indicated level between the 1g and -1g simulations, however, we found an overestimation of the perceived time for the ball to reach target height when observers were lying supine compared to when they were standing upright independent of the gravity condition simulated. A control experiment confirmed that this was not due to a general slowing of reaction times while lying supine versus while upright. To explore whether these observations might reflect posture-related changes in vestibular activity, participants completed the task under both simulated gravity conditions while seated upright in the presence of disruptive galvanic vestibular stimulation (dGVS) or during sham stimulation. As when lying supine, the perceived time for the ball to reach the target height was significantly longer in the presence of dGVS compared to during sham stimulation. Overall, participants were no better at anticipating 1g motion compared to -1g motion, but we provide compelling evidence that the state of vestibular signalling can impact the prediction of object motion.

Virtual reality (VR) has become a prominent medium for computer-mediated social interaction, yet the psychological and neural mechanisms underpinning avatar-mediated communication remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated how dynamically modulated avatar facial expressions shape interpersonal interaction in VR. Pairs of participants engaged in a collaborative creativity task while interacting via avatars whose facial expressions were either amplified, natural, or expressionless. We collected subjective measures of body ownership, social presence, and interpersonal attraction, while simultaneously recording neural activity using functional near-infrared-spectroscopy-based hyperscanning to assess inter-brain synchrony (IBS). Avatars displaying facial expressions, particularly amplified ones, significantly enhanced body ownership, social presence, and interpersonal attraction compared to expressionless avatars. At the neural level, visible avatar facial expressions were associated with IBS in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), regions that are commonly implicated in social-cognitive processes such as mentalizing and executive control. Although task performance did not differ across conditions, social presence was positively correlated with creative performance, suggesting that psychological connectedness supports collaborative creativity. Together, these findings indicate that avatar facial expressivity functions as a critical nonverbal social cue that facilitates affective and cognitive alignment between interaction partners. By linking subjective experience with inter-brain neural dynamics, this study provides empirical guidance for the design of virtual environments that promote social engagement and effective collaboration.

Michottes "launching displays" are animations of collision-like interactions between two objects that elicit a stable and robust impression that one object, the launcher, caused another object, the target, to move. Although it is well-known that unexpected disruptions of movement continuation between launcher and target decrease causal impressions in centre-to-centre collisions, the role of observers visual uncertainty around predicted moving trajectories remains relatively unexplored. In this work, we (1) assess observers uncertainty around post-collision moving angles in a trajectory prediction task and (2) collect their causal impression in a causality rating task. In the latter task, observers viewed centre-to-centre collisions with different levels of movement continuity between the launcher and the target disc. By presenting different launch orientations, we exploited the well-known oblique effect to vary trajectory prediction uncertainty within individuals. If observers rely on their trajectory predictions to rate the causality of the collision, we expect their accuracy in (1) to have a systematic influence on their causality rating in (2). We replicate previous findings that observers report stronger causal impressions in trials where the target and the launcher move in the same direction and weaker causal impressions for collisions where the target and the launcher moving trajectory deviated. Furthermore, causality ratings were on average higher for oblique compared to cardinal launch directions, implying that increased sensory uncertainty induces a stronger causal impression. We hope this work will inspire deeper empirical assessments and computational models describing the role of sensory uncertainty and predictive processes in shaping subjective impressions of causality.

The study of contemplative practices has evolved into a mature field, yet current taxonomies tend to classify all mantra-based meditation approaches as a single category, overlooking potentially different neural states induced by different mantras or different instructions. To address this gap, we conducted a study of 50 novice subjects practicing two types of mantra-based meditation over a six week period to evaluate changes in Electroencephalography (EEG) during and after meditation. Participants were randomly assigned to meditating with the Hare Krishna (HK) and Sa-Ta-Na-Ma (SA) mantras. Using spectral parameterization, we assessed the effects of each type of meditation on individual alpha power (IAP), individual alpha frequency (IAF) and center of gravity (CoG). The results revealed marked differences in alpha dynamics between the two practices. On the one hand, the HK group exhibited widespread IAP decrease and an IAF/CoG increase during mantra meditation that was maintained during rest after the meditation, which became more pronounced after training in the HK meditation. On the other hand, the SA group showed a localized IAP reduction during meditation and significant reduction of IAF during meditation after training. We suggest that the higher cognitive demands of HK induce a more activating, attentionally focused state, whereas SA promotes a more relaxed state. Additional psychological data show that both meditation groups had reduction in stress. Thus, these findings challenge the monolithic classification of mantra meditation and highlight the importance of differentiating practices according to their mechanisms, particularly for their targeted application in mental health contexts.

In our study, we used virtual reality to investigate how the colour of an objects surroundings influences colour constancy. Using Unreal Engine, we manipulated lighting and object properties in computer-generated scenes illuminated by five different light sources and presented them through an HTC Vive Pro Eye virtual reality headset. Participants assessed colour constancy by selecting the object that best matched a neutral reference from among five differently coloured options within the scene. Our results demonstrated a significant decline in colour constancy performance when the illuminant colour was in the opposite direction to that of the local surround, highlighting the interactive effects of surround colour and illumination.

Observing touch activates brain regions similar to those activated by experiencing actual touch, suggesting that visual information can cross-modally influence tactile perception. In this electroencephalography (EEG) study, we investigated how viewing visual displays of an arm being touched may affect the perception and processing of digitally rendered touch patterns designed to resemble either stroking or tapping. Thirty-one participants experienced touch patterns delivered to their left forearm via a wearable sleeve while viewing either a photo of an arm or spatiotemporally aligned videos of an arm being touched in synchrony with either of the two touch patterns. Continuity and pleasantness ratings of touch stimuli were higher for stroking than for tapping. Correlations between continuity and pleasantness ratings were stronger when touch was accompanied by videos of touch than by the photo of an arm. Analysis of evoked brain responses revealed visual modulation of touch processing at centroparietal electrodes beginning at around 0.9 s, with the cross-modal effects diverging between stroking and tapping at about 1.6 s. Furthermore, the interaction effects of cross-modal influences between stroking and tapping at the neural level positively correlated with the visual modulation of pleasantness ratings in two right frontal clusters at around 1.4 s and 1.8 s. These results suggest that observing touch influences the perception and processing of touch through initial sensory integration at centroparietal sites, followed by later frontal valuation processes. This extends previous findings on affective touch by demonstrating that visual inputs can cross-modally shape the hedonic evaluation of digitally actuated touch.