Projects
Mapping the space of altered states of consciousness
A preregistered study aimed at an empirically grounded classification of pharmacologically induced altered states. Participants (n = 739) rated the subjective dissimilarity between pairs of vividly remembered experiences associated with different psychoactive substances, and we modelled these ratings as distances in a geometric space using multidimensional scaling, complemented by PCA, UMAP and t-SNE. The first dimension separates ordinary and depressant- or stimulant-induced states from psychedelic and dissociative ones, the second spans the inhibition–stimulation axis.
Simulated hallucinations in virtual reality
Studies with the VR Hallucination Machine, in which machine-learning algorithms distort the participant’s view to evoke hallucination-like experiences. The type and intensity of the distortions are under experimental control, which allows the induced states to be arranged into planned sequences. The studies combine time-perception measures, free descriptions of the state, and eye-tracking and electrocardiography.
Sensorimotor regularities and conscious access
A VR paradigm combining sensorimotor control tasks with continuous flash suppression to test whether objects whose motion depends lawfully on one’s actions gain faster access to awareness than objects moving randomly.
Funding
All grants from the National Science Centre, Poland (PI).
- Sonatina 2022/44/C/HS6/00068 (2022–2025) – the sense of temporal continuity between episodes of altered perceptual experience
- Etiuda 2019/32/T/HS6/00137 (2019–2021) – the informational role of sensorimotor bodily states in shaping the contents of visual awareness
- Preludium 2016/23/N/HS6/02920 (2017–2022) – sensorimotor determinants of the dynamics of perceptual awareness