Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
February 16, 2022
Asa Young, Tam Hunt, Marissa Ericson
34 citations
Brain-generated electromagnetic field oscillations are increasingly seen as causal drivers of consciousness. Recent work highlights how the body's endogenous rhythms organize these fields through entrainment. This paper examines evidence of shared oscillations between the brain and other body parts in humans and animals, testing the Slowest Shared Resonance (SSR) principle of General Resonance Theory. The SSR principle states that macro-consciousness in coupled field systems depends on the slowest common denominator frequency. It predicts that a system's SSR decreases with distance between the brain and resonating structures. Observed resonance relationships—between brain and gastric neurons, sensory organs, and spinal cord—generally match these predictions, empirically supporting the SSR principle.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 31, 2022
Asa Young, Isabella Robbins, Shivang Shelat
Consciousness may extend beyond the individual brain to form a hierarchical cognitive system when people interact. Building on evidence that the electromagnetic fields of interacting individuals synchronize, the authors propose that coupled agents can merge into a group-level conscious system through recurrent, entraining behavioral interactions. Using General Resonance Theory, they describe how synchronized electromagnetic fields optimize information flow, altering individual conscious states and enhancing group performance. While the existence of a physical basis for group consciousness remains speculative, the framework offers testable predictions for empirical research.
Resonance
March 1, 2022
Asa Young
Rhythm is a pervasive feature of the environment and is perceived through multiple senses. A growing approach in cognitive science looks to neural oscillations—electromagnetic field rhythms generated by the brain—as a quantifiable measure of consciousness, offering a way to bridge subjective and objective experience. Oscillatory rhythms can arise internally or externally and can strongly influence subjective experience; some external audio rhythms, such as speech, binaural beats, and music, can induce states labeled altered states of consciousness. This piece examines how external auditory rhythms affect conscious states at individual and interpersonal levels, expanding the scope for applying cognitive science to study subjective experience.