{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T18:40:39Z","timestamp":1792435239165,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":108,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792368000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":291,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This paper proposes a neurodynamic framework for meaningful experience, grounded in the recursive alignment of brain dynamics across time. We argue that the meaningful experiences known as \u201cpurpose\u201d, \u201csynchronicity\u201d, and \u201cflow\u201d are not distinct phenomena, but temporal expressions of the same underlying process: metastable coherence in the brain\u2019s attractor landscape. Synchronicity marks transient realignments across representational levels; flow reflects the low-entropy navigation of emergent structures; and purpose encodes long-term integration into causal agency of a self-model. Drawing on active inference, dynamical systems theory, and recent work on predictive processing and memory consolidation, we formalize these states as trajectories through phase-space\u2014differentiated by temporal depth, stability, and precision-weighting. We offer empirical predictions for each regime, linking neural signatures such as sharp-wave ripples, P300b activity, and network coherence to experiential markers of meaning. We also propose a developmental interpretation informed by Robert Kegan\u2019s subject\u2013object theory, framing purpose as an evolving attractor shaped through recursive narrative and identity updating. This model suggests that meaning is not only symbolic or semantic, but dynamic, embodied, and experimentally testable: a measurable function of the brain\u2019s capacity to coordinate across nested timescales.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/nc\/niag063","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T18:18:12Z","timestamp":1792433892000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Strange attractors: purpose, synchronicity, flow, and the neurodynamics of meaning"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"2026","author":[{"given":"Steven","family":"Kotler","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Flow Research Collective ,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University , 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6312-5632","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Mannino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Flow Research Collective ,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University , 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 ,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Miami Dade College , 300 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33132 Miami ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7984-8909","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karl","family":"Friston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University College London , London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT ,","place":["UK"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Scott","family":"Kelso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University , 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33431 ,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Bath Institute for the Augmented Human, University of Bath , Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY ,","place":["United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Intelligent Systems Research Centre, Ulster University , Derry\/Londonderry, Magee Campus, Londonderry BT48 7JL, Northern Ireland ,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.neuro.28.061604.135709","article-title":"An integrative theory of locus coeruleus\u2013norepinephrine function: Adaptive gain and optimal performance","volume":"28","author":"Aston-Jones","year":"2005","journal-title":"Annu Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsw154","article-title":"The theory of constructed emotion: An active inference account of interoception and categorization","volume":"12","author":"Barrett","year":"2017","journal-title":"Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref3a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.3389\/fncom.2019.00062","article-title":"Metastable resting state brain dynamics","volume":"13","author":"beim Graben","year":"2019","journal-title":"Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref4a","first-page":"93","article-title":"A dynamic field account to language-related brain potentials","author":"beim Graben","year":"2012","journal-title":"Principles of Brain Dynamics: Global State Interactions"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/S1364-6613(00)01564-3","article-title":"Cortical coordination dynamics and cognition","volume":"5","author":"Bressler","year":"2001","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.3389\/fnins.2016.00397","article-title":"Coordination dynamics in cognitive neuroscience","volume":"10","author":"Bressler","year":"2016","journal-title":"Front Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref7","first-page":"13","article-title":"Freeman neurodynamics: The past 25 years","volume":"25","author":"Bressler","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Conscious Stud"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref7a","article-title":"A Cognitive Neuroscience View of Paranormal and Pseudoscientific Thought","volume":"195","author":"Brugger","year":"2001","journal-title":"Hauntings and Poltergeists: Multidisciplinary Perspectives"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2417","DOI":"10.1007\/s11229-016-1239-1","article-title":"The anticipating brain is not a scientist: The free-energy principle from an ecological-enactive perspective","volume":"195","author":"Bruineberg","year":"2018","journal-title":"Synthese"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref9a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.3304","article-title":"Memory, navigation and theta rhythm in the hippocampal-entorhinal system","volume":"16","author":"Buzs\u00e1ki","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nature Neuroscience"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1073","DOI":"10.1002\/hipo.22488","article-title":"Hippocampal sharp wave-ripple: A cognitive biomarker for episodic memory and planning","volume":"25","author":"Buzs\u00e1ki","year":"2015","journal-title":"Hippocampus"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref11","volume-title":"Rhythms of the Brain","author":"Buzs\u00e1ki","year":"2015"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref11a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"316","DOI":"10.1124\/pr.118.017160","article-title":"REBUS and the anarchic brain: toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics","volume":"71","author":"Carhart-Harris","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pharmacological Reviews"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X12000477","article-title":"Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science","volume":"36","author":"Clark","year":"2013","journal-title":"Behav Brain Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref14","volume-title":"Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind","author":"Clark","year":"2015"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881107077716","article-title":"From prediction error to psychosis: Ketamine as a pharmacological model of delusions","volume":"21","author":"Corlett","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01193705","article-title":"Attractors for random dynamical-systems","volume":"100","author":"Crauel","year":"1994","journal-title":"Probab Theory Relat"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref17","volume-title":"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience","author":"Csikszentmihalyi","year":"1990"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref19","first-page":"128","article-title":"Metastability and coherence: Extending the communication through coherence hypothesis using a whole-brain computational perspective","volume":"40","author":"Deco","year":"2017","journal-title":"Trends Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2961","article-title":"Emerging concepts for the dynamical organization of resting-state activity in the brain","volume":"12","author":"Deco","year":"2011","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"746","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2004.07.002","article-title":"Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow","volume":"13","author":"Dietrich","year":"2004","journal-title":"Conscious Cogn"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref22a","volume-title":"NeuroImage","author":"Eldaly"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref23a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2536","article-title":"Perceiving is believing: a Bayesian approach to explaining the positive symptoms of schizophrenia","volume":"10","author":"Fletcher","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref22","first-page":"291","article-title":"Nonlinear neurodynamics of intentionality","volume":"18","author":"Freeman","year":"1997","journal-title":"J Mind Behav"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"303","DOI":"10.1016\/S0928-4257(00)01090-1","article-title":"Mesoscopic neurodynamics: From neuron to brain","volume":"94","author":"Freeman","year":"2000","journal-title":"J Physiol Paris"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1016\/S0079-6123(06)65028-0","article-title":"The place of \u2018codes\u2019 in nonlinear neurodynamics","volume":"165","author":"Freeman","year":"2007","journal-title":"Prog Brain Res"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2009.04.005","article-title":"The free-energy principle: A rough guide to the brain?","volume":"13","author":"Friston","year":"2009","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref25a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.1038\/nrn2787","article-title":"The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory?","volume":"11","author":"Friston","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nature Reviews Neuroscience"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref26a","first-page":"640","article-title":"Precision psychiatry","volume":"2","author":"Friston","year":"2017","journal-title":"Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1019","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-018-0200-7","article-title":"Does predictive coding have a future?","volume":"21","author":"Friston","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cortex.2015.03.025","article-title":"Active inference, communication and hermeneutics","volume":"68","author":"Friston","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cortex"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e6421","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0006421","article-title":"Reinforcement learning or active inference?","volume":"4","author":"Friston","year":"2009","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.3389\/fncom.2012.00044","article-title":"Perception and self-organized instability","volume":"6","author":"Friston","year":"2012","journal-title":"Front Comput Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2013.00598","article-title":"The anatomy of choice: Active inference and agency","volume":"7","author":"Friston","year":"2012","journal-title":"Front Hum Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1002327","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1002327","article-title":"Dopamine, affordance and active inference","volume":"8","author":"Friston","year":"2012","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1162\/NECO_a_00912","article-title":"Active inference: A process theory","volume":"29","author":"Friston","year":"2017","journal-title":"Neural Comput"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2633","DOI":"10.1162\/neco_a_00999","article-title":"Active inference, curiosity and insight","volume":"29","author":"Friston","year":"2017","journal-title":"Neural Comput"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.plrev.2023.08.016","article-title":"Path integrals, particular kinds, and strange things","volume":"47","author":"Friston","year":"2023","journal-title":"Phys Life Rev"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnetp.2025.1521963","volume-title":"From Pixels to Planning: Scale-Free Active Inference","author":"Friston","year":"2024"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref36","first-page":"117","volume-title":"The Oxford Handbook of the Self","author":"Gallagher","year":"2020"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref37a","volume-title":"Attention and Cognitive Development","author":"Gibson"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref38a","article-title":"A complexity-science framework for studying flow: using media to probe brain-phenomenology dynamics","volume":"122050","author":"Hancock","year":"2026","journal-title":"NeuroImage"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1038\/s41583-024-00883-1","article-title":"Metastability demystified\u2014The foundational past, the pragmatic present and the promising future","volume":"26","author":"Hancock","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nat Rev Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1482","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797614531799","article-title":"Purpose in life as a predictor of mortality across adulthood","volume":"25","author":"Hill","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychol Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1111\/nous.12062","article-title":"The self-evidencing brain","volume":"50","author":"Hohwy","year":"2016","journal-title":"No\u00fbs"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4029","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.55.4029","article-title":"Differentiable synchronisation of chaos","volume":"55","author":"Hunt","year":"1997","journal-title":"Phys Rev E"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1454","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1217230","article-title":"Awake hippocampal sharp-wave ripples support spatial memory","volume":"336","author":"Jadhav","year":"2012","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"052216","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.94.052216","article-title":"Generalized synchrony of coupled stochastic processes with multiplicative noise","volume":"94","author":"Jafri","year":"2016","journal-title":"Phys Rev E"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref43a","volume-title":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","author":"Josipovic","year":"2014"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref44","volume-title":"Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle","author":"Jung","year":"1960"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref44a","volume-title":"Collected works of CG Jung, Volume 6: Psychological Types","author":"Jung","year":"1976"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4159\/9780674039414","volume-title":"The Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development","author":"Kegan","year":"1982"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref46","volume-title":"In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life","author":"Kegan","year":"1994"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref47","volume-title":"Dynamic Patterns: The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior","author":"Kelso","year":"1995"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref48","first-page":"93","volume-title":"The Emergence of the Mind","author":"Kelso","year":"2001"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref49","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.3902\/jnns.8.125","article-title":"Metastable coordination dynamics of brain and behavior","volume":"8","author":"Kelso","year":"2001","journal-title":"Brain Neural Netw (Japan)"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref50","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"906","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2011.0351","article-title":"Multistability and metastability: Understanding dynamic coordination in the brain","volume":"367","author":"Kelso","year":"2012","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc B"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref51","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"490","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2016.04.004","article-title":"On the self-organizing origins of agency","volume":"20","author":"Kelso","year":"2016","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref52","article-title":"The motionable mind: How physics (dynamics) and life (movement) go (t) together\u2014On boundary conditions and order parameter fluctuations in coordination dynamics","volume":"235","author":"Kelso","year":"2025","journal-title":"Eur Phys J Spec Top"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref53","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-03205-9_6","volume-title":"Downward Causation and the Neurobiology of Free Will","author":"Kelso","year":"2009"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref54","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"104956","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2022.104956","article-title":"First few seconds for flow: A comprehensive proposal of the neurobiology and neurodynamics of state onset","volume":"143","author":"Kotler","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref54a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1093\/nc\/niae040","article-title":"Flow and intuition: a systems neuroscience comparison","volume-title":"Neuroscience of Consciousness","author":"Kotler","year":"2025"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref55a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neunet.2009.03.019","article-title":"The KIV model of intentional dynamics and decision making","volume":"22","author":"Kozma","year":"2009","journal-title":"Neural Networks"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref55","first-page":"93","article-title":"Freeman\u2019s intentional neurodynamics","volume":"11","author":"Kozma","year":"2017","journal-title":"Chaos Complexity Lett"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref56","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1223","DOI":"10.1007\/s10955-017-1836-5","article-title":"Why does deep and cheap learning work so well?","volume":"168","author":"Lin","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Stat Phys"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref57a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.2307\/jj.18253777","volume-title":"Revelations of chance: Synchronicity as spiritual experience","author":"Main","year":"2007"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref57","first-page":"64","article-title":"Freeman\u2019s nonlinear brain dynamics and consciousness","volume":"25","author":"Mannino","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Conscious Stud"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref58","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"233","DOI":"10.1177\/0963721413475622","article-title":"Narrative identity","volume":"22","author":"McAdams","year":"2013","journal-title":"Curr Dir Psychol Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref59","first-page":"89","volume-title":"Handbook of Positive Psychology","author":"Nakamura","year":"2002"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref60","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/acprof:oso\/9780199826988.001.0001","volume-title":"Unlocking the Brain: Volume 1: Coding","author":"Northoff","year":"2013"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref61","volume-title":"Neuro-Philosophy and the Healthy Mind: Learning from the Unwell Brain","author":"Northoff","year":"2016"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref62","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2019.06.034","article-title":"Sensorimotor beta power reflects the precision-weighting afforded to sensory prediction errors","volume":"200","author":"Palmer","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuroimage"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref63","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20170376","DOI":"10.1098\/rsif.2017.0376","article-title":"Uncertainty, epistemics and active inference","volume":"14","author":"Parr","year":"2017","journal-title":"J R Soc Interface"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref64","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.3389\/fncom.2018.00090","article-title":"The anatomy of inference: Generative models and brain structure","volume":"12","author":"Parr","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Comput Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref65","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.copsyc.2018.10.006","article-title":"Attention or salience?","volume":"29","author":"Parr","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref66","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1354719","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2024.1354719","article-title":"Forgetting ourselves in flow: An active inference account of flow states and how we experience ourselves within them","volume":"15","author":"Parvizi-Wayne","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref67","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pneurobio.2017.05.004","article-title":"Uncertainty and stress: Why it causes diseases and how it is mastered by the brain","volume":"156","author":"Peters","year":"2017","journal-title":"Prog Neurobiol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref68","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pneurobio.2015.09.001","article-title":"Active inference, homeostatic regulation and adaptive behavioral control","volume":"134","author":"Pezzulo","year":"2015","journal-title":"Prog Neurobiol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref69","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2128","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinph.2007.04.019","article-title":"Updating P300: An integrative theory of P3a and P3b","volume":"118","author":"Polich","year":"2007","journal-title":"Clin Neurophysiol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref70","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"niab018","DOI":"10.1093\/nc\/niab018","article-title":"Towards a computational phenomenology of mental action: Modelling meta-awareness and attentional control with deep parametric active inference","volume":"2021","author":"Sandved-Smith","year":"2021","journal-title":"Neurosci Conscious"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref71","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3434","DOI":"10.1093\/cercor\/bhu159","article-title":"The dopaminergic midbrain encodes the expected certainty about desired outcomes","volume":"25","author":"Schwartenbeck","year":"2015","journal-title":"Cereb Cortex"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref73","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2349","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.5587-06.2007","article-title":"Dissociable intrinsic connectivity networks for salience processing and executive control","volume":"27","author":"Seeley","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref74","first-page":"65","volume-title":"The Nature of Insight","author":"Seifert","year":"1995"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref75","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20160007","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2016.0007","article-title":"Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain","volume":"371","author":"Seth","year":"2016","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref76","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1038\/scientificamerican1208-48","article-title":"Patternicity: Finding meaningful patterns in meaningless noise","volume":"299","author":"Shermer","year":"2008","journal-title":"Sci Am"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref77","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.4637-10.2011","article-title":"Information capacity and transmission are maximized in balanced cortical networks with neuronal avalanches","volume":"31","author":"Shew","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref78","first-page":"321","article-title":"The dynamic integration of neural activity and neuromodulatory systems","volume":"102","author":"Shine","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref79","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-018-0312-0","article-title":"Human cognition involves the dynamic integration of neural activity and neuromodulatory systems","volume":"22","author":"Shine","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref80","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"437","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0022-3506.2004.00268.x","article-title":"Narrative identity and meaning making across the adult lifespan: An introduction","volume":"72","author":"Singer","year":"2004","journal-title":"J Pers"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref81","first-page":"203","article-title":"Self-defining memories, scripts, and the coherence of personality","volume":"18","author":"Singer","year":"2013","journal-title":"Eur Psychol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref81a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X00047336","article-title":"How brains make chaos in order to make sense of the world","volume":"10","author":"Skarda","year":"1987","journal-title":"Behavioral and Brain Sciences"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref82a","volume-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences","author":"Sloan"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref82","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2714","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2018.02714","article-title":"The hard problem of consciousness and the free energy principle","volume":"9","author":"Solms","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref83","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.53765\/20512201.28.11.153","article-title":"Precis of the hidden spring: A journey to the source of consciousness","volume":"28","author":"Solms","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Conscious Stud"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref84","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1016\/0140-6736(90)91520-K","article-title":"Association within a family of a balanced autosomal translocation with major mental illness","volume":"336","author":"St Clair","year":"1990","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref84a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"415","DOI":"10.1007\/s11571-009-9099-8","article-title":"A dynamical systems perspective on the relationship between symbolic and non-symbolic computation","volume":"3","author":"Tabor","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cognitive Neurodynamics"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref85","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2009.01.009","article-title":"Attention training and attention state training","volume":"13","author":"Tang","year":"2009","journal-title":"Trends Cogn Sci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref86","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2013.12.022","article-title":"The metastable brain","volume":"81","author":"Tognoli","year":"2014","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref86a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8190","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0611453104","article-title":"The phi complex as a neuromarker of human social coordination","volume":"104","author":"Tognoli","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref87","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1007805","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1007805","article-title":"Learning action-oriented models through active inference","volume":"16","author":"Tschantz","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS Comput Biol"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref88a","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"793","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X01000097","article-title":"Toward an interpretation of dynamic neural activity in terms of chaotic dynamical systems","volume":"24","author":"Tsuda","year":"2001","journal-title":"Behavioral and Brain Sciences"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref88","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.1093\/scan\/nsv133","article-title":"Neural signatures of experimentally induced flow experiences identified in a typical fMRI block design with BOLD imaging","volume":"11","author":"Ulrich","year":"2016","journal-title":"Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref89","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7551\/mitpress\/6730.001.0001","volume-title":"The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience","author":"Varela","year":"1991"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref90","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6345","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.57.6345","article-title":"How self-organized criticality works: A unified mean-field picture","volume":"57","author":"Vespignani","year":"1998","journal-title":"Phys Rev E"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref91","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"220405","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.99.220405","article-title":"Entanglement renormalization","volume":"99","author":"Vidal","year":"2007","journal-title":"Phys Rev Lett"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref92","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1544","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jde.2012.05.015","article-title":"Sufficient and necessary criteria for existence of pullback attractors for non-compact random dynamical systems","volume":"253","author":"Wang","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Differ Equ"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref93","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"681","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2005.04.026","article-title":"Uncertainty, neuromodulation, and attention","volume":"46","author":"Yu","year":"2005","journal-title":"Neuron"},{"key":"2026101914180856200_ref94","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"451","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2015.09.013","article-title":"Purpose in life predicts allostatic load ten years later","volume":"79","author":"Zilioli","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Psychosom Res"}],"container-title":["Neuroscience of Consciousness"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/nc\/article-pdf\/2026\/1\/niag063\/72115732\/niag063.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/nc\/article-pdf\/2026\/1\/niag063\/72115732\/niag063.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T18:18:19Z","timestamp":1792433899000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/nc\/article\/doi\/10.1093\/nc\/niag063\/8943654"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"references-count":108,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,17]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/nc\/niag063","relation":{},"ISSN":["2057-2107"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2057-2107","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published-other":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"published":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"article-number":"niag063"}}