Advanced Consciousness

So what if there was something faster, simpler, and passive? One of the latest papers from IACS, published in npj Digital Medicine, explores this new innovative treatment that feels more like science fiction than science fact. The post What If 23 Minutes of Light and Sound (In A Reflective Chamber) Could Melt Away Your Stress? appeared first on Advanced Consciousness .

May 2025 Received funding for project COMING SOON! Will begin running participants. 117 Expected total number of participants. Study Status Protocol 009 HEARTBEAM: Heart-Brain Engagement for Adolescent Meditation Modern adolescents face unprecedented rates of anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders, yet traditional meditation approaches struggle to engage youth immersed in digital envir…

Evolve 4B: Stress Resilience Research Study Are you a working professional experiencing high stress or burnout? The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies is conducting a research study evaluating an investigational virtual reality-based stress resilience program. We are seeking employed adults (ages 22-65) who are currently experiencing elevated stress levels. About the Study This study in…

Ninette Simonian Research Consultant Ninette is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at The Ohio State University under Ruchika Prakash, Ph.D. In the Clinical Neuroscience Lab, she is working on an NIH-funded clinical trial examining an internet-based mind-body intervention for older adults with subjective cognitive complaints. She aims to study the intersection of technology and med…

October 2024 Received funding for project Location Sky Cave Retreats Oregon, U.S. 30 Number of participants Study Status The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS), alongside Sky Cave Retreats, is investigating the neuroscientific and phenomenological effects of dark retreat practices. This research aims to bridge ancient wisdom with modern science by examining how sustained darkness…

May 2021 Received funding for project. July 2021 Began running participants. October 2022 Completed data collection for 286 participants. Study Status Protocol 001 Assessing The Impact of an Audiovisual Experience on Mood States The purpose of this study is to characterize the neurophysiological responses and behavioral measures tracking mood states between different light and sound experiences a…

March 2023 Received funding for project. April 2023 Will begin running participants. 4000+ Expected total number of participants. Study Status Protocol 005 (E4002) Characterizing the neurophysiological and behavioral profile of aesthetic chills With funding from the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and Joy Ventures, The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies will be conducting a series of basic res…

Mihir Nath Junior Research Scientist Driven by a deep curiosity to understand consciousness and well-being, Mihir Nath combines a background in physics and neuroscience with a profound interest in meditation. He is interested in harnessing the synergy of neuroscience and technology to enhance and make meditative practices more accessible to the wider world. Graduate Ashoka University, B.S Physics…

April 2023 Received funding for project 2 Years Project timeline Project timeline Type of study Study Status Preventing Sociopathic Robots Leveraging Vulnerability and Homeostasis to Encourage Prosocial Behavior in World-Modeling AI We will run a variety of simulations to demonstrate how prosocially aligned AI may be emergently bootstrapped via vulnerable engagement (alone and in competition/coll…

With funding from Dance Jazzo, the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS) will conduct research aimed at understanding the neurophysiological effects of SlowMotionFlow practice. If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be asked to: - Complete questionnaires about your movement experience and current state - Be fitted with EEG equipment and biometric sensors - Perform 2…

Get The Article Article PDF Cite This Work APA MLA Bibtex Christov-Moore, L., Schoeller, F., Von Guttenberg, M., Durinski, T., Jain, F. A., Iacoboni, M., & Reggente, N. Using Chills-Inducing Music to Augment Self-Transcendence, Emotional Breakthrough, and Psychological Insight During Mindfulness and Loving Kindness Meditation. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1589132. Christov-Moore, Leonardo, et al.…

Nicco Reggente, Ph.D. Research Director Nicco Reggente, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and co-founder of the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies where he currently serves as Research Director. The overarching theme of his research is the development of neuroimaging-informed, personalized neurotechnology to help individuals achieve desired outcomes. Nicco’s research has spanned the domains of …

Your ideal research study My ideal research is in clinical and social neuroscience, specifically in understanding the neural and psychological mechanisms behind attachment, grief, emotional resilience, and transformative emotional states (such as those of psychedelics, and states of awe). I am also passionate about translating scientific insight into accessible clinical tools and public engagemen…

Mordechai Walder Junior Research Scientist Mordechai Walder’s computational biology research has focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying disease through building multimodal prediction models of protein binding interfaces, as well as leveraging gene expression data to model emergent cellular communication networks. He has also spent years studying Talmudic law and Jewish philosophy, in …

Heartbeat Evoked Potentials Increase With Meditative Depth: Implications for Personalized, Multimodal Neurofeedback Mihir Nath & Nicco Reggente Quick Summary This study examined Heartbeat Evoked Potentials (HEPs) during meditation in expert Vipassana practitioners, revealing progressive amplitude increases tracking self-reported meditative depth in real-time. While traditional EEG markers often r…

Towards Enhancing Meditation with Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Experts Shinzen Young, Matthew Sacchet, and Nicco Reggente Quick Summary Our overarching goal is to reliably induce deep and beneficial states of meditation with neuromodulation. Here, we target three candidate regions of the brain: Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), Caudate, and Insula via non-invasive focused ultrasound (FUS…

Effective Deepening of Meditative-States with Focused Ultrasound Stimulation and its Moderation by Prior Experience Cain, J.1, Simonian, N.1, Bystritsky, A. 1, May, J. 1, Reggente, N. 1 1Institute For Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA PrePrint: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/y9b7q Quick Summary Focused ultrasound was utilized to precisely disrupt the Posterior cingulate cor…

Aesthetic Chills: A Replicable Path to Self-Transcendence Christov-Moore, L.1, Schoeller, F.1, Reggente, N. 1 1Institute For Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA PrePrint: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/y9b7q Quick Summary Self-transcendence (ST), a positive altered state of ego-dissolution, interconnectedness, and moral elevation, mediates well-being, resilience, and pro-soci…

Heartbeat-Evoked Potentials as a Neural Marker of Meditative Depth Nath, M.1,2, Reggente, N. 1, 1Institute For Advanced Consciousness Studies, Santa Monica, CA, USA 2Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany PrePrint: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/7c3er Quick Summary This study examined Heartbeat Evoked Potentials (HEPs) during meditation in expert Vipassana practiti…

Towards Enhancing Meditation with Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Expert Meditators Joshua A. Cain, Geena Wang, Tracy Brandmeyer, Ninette Simonian, Nicco Reggente Quick Summary Our overarching goal is to reliably induce deep and beneficial states of meditation with neuromodulation. Here, we target three candidate regions of the brain: Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), Caudate, and Insula vi…