Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies

The study that started IACS is out now! We used EEG and a novel "spontaneous emergence" self-reporting method in experienced Vipassana meditators to decode meditative depth. Here's the article out in Biological Psychiatry: sciencedirect.com/science/articl… More info 👇

@james__esch @a16z @hubermanlab Yes! What @hubermanlab describes at 0:40 made me jump out and say "wow, this is exactly what Vayl is doing". Being able to work concurrently with audiovisual entrainment vs. taking the time aside to have an isolated experience is one of those elegant, game-changing ideas.

@hubermanlab we are researching and productizing the stimulation system you are envisioning. Our best term is "task concurrent" sensory stimulation. It's a new intersection in attention, perception, and cognitive load. Happy to share our product roadmap and findings to date. -Partnered with Nicco Reggente (UCLA and IACS Lab)

Technology may soon be able to dial cognitive states on demand. Andrew Huberman: "The real holy grail in all this is the ability to dial in cognitive states." "I can imagine putting on a pair of glasses to sit down and do some work… and for the next 40 minutes you'll experience the kind of focus that you only had a few times when you had all conditions right." "The amount of things you can do to modify brain state through this region, just the eyes, ears, and superficial nerves that run around there is just phenomenal." "If I were to personally invest in any companies doing that sort of thing, that's the body area and the sorts of things I'd be really focused on." @hubermanlab @daisydwolf

Want to participate in a study at IACS? One of our newest studies is open for sign-ups right now, and we're especially excited about this one! Here's what participation looks like: • 5 sessions of VR-based biofeedback over a 10-day period, using a cutting-edge VR headset that lets you see and interact with your own brain and body activity in real time • Compensation: $172.50 + validated parking Spots are limited, and scheduling has already begun. FIND MORE INFO AND SIGN UP HERE: advancedconsciousness.org/product/evolve…

Excited to share our perspective in Virtual Worlds: VR offers a paradigmatic solution to ecological validity deficits in memory assessment. By simulating real-world environments, VR reveals subtle cognitive impairments that traditional tests miss, particularly crucial for early detection of MCI and Alzheimer's. Read the article here: mdpi.com/2813-2084/5/1/7

New from IACS: Our study shows that music-induced chills can enhance self-transcendence during loving-kindness meditation. Chills augmentation significantly increased emotional breakthrough, psychological insight, and feelings of connectedness—opening new paths for accessible, non-pharmacological interventions. 🎵🧘 Read the article here: frontiersin.org/journals/psych… See our Blog Post here: advancedconsciousness.org/making-self-tr…

@lichthauch Perhaps it's the obsession part that is awry. One should certainly cultivate the capacity for present moment awareness while also retaining capacities for simulation.

A man obsessed with "being present" is running from the only superpower humans have - time travel in your head - animals are trapped in now but you can simulate tomorrow and learn from yesterday, and mindfulness culture is teaching you to disable your best feature because thinking about the future gives you anxiety, but anxiety is just your nervous system doing math about threats you can still prevent only being present is what prey animals do right before they get eaten

@algekalipso would be very interested in your thoughts on dark retreat and the accompanying DMT-esque phenomenology that emerges after the first few days

If you can get to high level DMT stuff just by meditating (and my Fire Kasina enjoying friends assure me this is true, 100% true, though I haven't experienced it myself) I can totally understand why people would be completely sold on Buddhism's metaphysics deep into a monastery stay. Buddha's from other dimensions manifesting and reaching you how to recognize everything as mind-made fabrications interdependent with others mind-made fabrications. It really does take a lot of work to be able to explain why this might happen without the accompanying metaphysics and broader framework. I am still hopeful a mathematical / physical explanation of Buddha manifestations is possible, alas.

@attentionmech Dark retreats.

is there a rapid method to make the unconscious conscious?

Music Goosebumps Expose Unexpected Patterns in Belief Aesthetic chills — the goosebumps and shivers people feel when moved by music or other profound experiences — are strongly tied to political psychology, new research finds. Studying more than 8,000 people, scientists discovered that people on both ends of the political spectrum reported more intense chills than moderates, suggesting that heightened sensitivity to awe and visceral feelings may underpin political extremism. The findings also highlight connections between religiosity, interoceptive awareness (sensitivity to internal bodily states), and emotional intensity. These results deepen understanding of how profound emotional responses may shape ideology and polarization.

Chills vs. Pills: Can Goosebumps Replace @Drugs? | Nicco Reggente, PhD, neuroscientist and co-founder of @theIACS [video] #podcast youtu.be/haG0WLswIws?si… @YouTube

We are excited to announce the publication of our latest manuscript, "Individual differences in aesthetic experience point to the role of bodily awareness in political orientation" in Political Psychology, featuring Leonardo Christov-Moore , Felix Schoeller, and Nicco Reggente, PhD of Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, as well as our colleagues Marco Iacoboni, Brock Pluimer, PhD, Anthony Vaccaro, PhD, and Jonas Kaplan. In it, we highlight the links between political extremism, somatic awareness, and our aesthetic responses. See the recent write-up in PsyPost: #google_vignette" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">psypost.org/surprising-lin… See the full article here: lnkd.in/gkNsb-du Our blog post: lnkd.in/gRzywhub

Are you a #NeuroNerd...like me? If so, YOU are going to LOVE THIS video #podcast "Chills vs. Pills: Can Goosebumps Replace Drugs?" With Prof Nicco Reggente, Neuroscientist and co-founder of @theIACS youtu.be/haG0WLswIws?si…

@eshear Andy Clark and David Chalmer doe some great writing on "extended cognition" and used the example of a "crane" in ways similar to your tele and micro examples. Here's a PDF: clark-chalmers-1998.pdf share.google/lV3uvbHPQOxQnN…

Other than Heidegger, who is the best philosopher on tools and instruments as extensions of the self? Particularly interested in someone who examines the role, philosophically, of having an instrument for inquiry. Eg the telescope or microscope enabling new sciences.

@nosilverv You could argue any time you get chills from an insight is a one shot at some level. For example: Aesthetic chills mitigate maladaptive cognition in depression - PMC share.google/ai1Fxgwz4fYYCe…

Eigen's asking about negative oneshots. I wanna know about positive oneshots. Something that happened to you or that you did or saw or read that shifted your life trajectory upward, all at once? So, what oneshotted you?

Lots to consider from predispositions to induced psychoses to enzymatic velocity of the breakdown as a function of form factor, which then would impact functional dosage. The cannabis industry has started to leverage similar information to personalize recommendations (e.g., straingenie.com)

What are people's views on genetic contributions to differential responses to psychedelics e.g., psilocybin specifically?

IACS is excited to announce we have officially received funding for our new study, HEARTBEAM: Heart-Brain Engagement for Adolescent Meditation. Through immersive, biofeedback-based gameplay, we will investigate whether adolescents can develop mindfulness and emotional regulation skills by playing virtual reality games that harness their heart-brain connection. You can learn more about HEARTBEAM here: advancedconsciousness.org/product/p009/ We are grateful for the support from @tbd_foundation and their commitment to youth mental health.

See some of the latest work out of IACS as well as a roadmap of future directions by registering for Nicco's talk on Wednesday! -- salons.unlikelycollaborators.com/spark-salon-ni…

🧠💓 "Listen to your heart" takes on a modern meaning! Our #OHBM2025 poster shows how heartbeat-evoked potentials can measure how deeply you're meditating in real time with high fidelity. This work opens doors to personalized meditation training based on the amount of influence your heart has on your brain, which can promote embodiment and interoceptive sensibility. Come stop by poster #1927 today and tomorrow @OHBM 🧘‍♀️✨

🎵✨ Are aesthetic chills a drug-free, "technodelic" route to altered states capable of promoting belief updating? Our #OHBM2025 poster reveals how aesthetic chills trigger self-transcendent phenomenology and pro-social behaviors that scale with increases in neural complexity that are often seen in psychedelics. Come chill at poster #2016 today and tomorrow @OHBM

@withdhyan That's amazingnews! We would be happy to send you the stimulus presentation code and our study manual. If you reach out to our lab manager, ninette@advancedconsciousness.org, she will get you all set!

@theIACS hey. we are trying to replicate the study. Is there a primer available on the tech setup?

The study that started IACS is out now! We used EEG and a novel "spontaneous emergence" self-reporting method in experienced Vipassana meditators to decode meditative depth. Here's the article out in Biological Psychiatry: sciencedirect.com/science/articl… More info 👇

@zach_haigney @dmt_quest What cool timing! We are at the same conference as @dmt_quest right now in Menla.

@dmt_quest @theIACS