# Hypnagogia, psychedelics, and sensory deprivation: the mythic structure of dream-like experiences

## TL;DR

This study explores how dream-like and psychedelic experiences may reflect a premodern 'mythic' mode of cognition rather than cognitive deficits.

## Contribution

The study introduces the idea that altered states reflect a distinct cognitive framework, not a lack of logic.

## Key findings

- Participants showed shifts toward mythic cognition features during flotation sessions.
- Altered states exhibited parallels with mythic conceptions of space, time, and substance.
- The perceived illogicality is explained by a distinct cognitive framework, not a deficit.

## Abstract

Dream-like and psychedelic experiences often display internally illogical structures. Recent theories propose that these experiences function as “spontaneous offline simulations” related to specific brain processes. This study investigates whether such perceived illogicality reflects a distinct, premodern mode of cognition—commonly referred to as “mythic” cognition—rather than a cognitive deficit.

Thirty-one participants underwent four 90-minute flotation REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique) sessions designed to induce altered, dream-like states. After each session, participants completed the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) and additional questions targeting features associated with mythic cognition.

Participants showed significant phenomenological shifts toward experiences characteristic of mythic cognition. Specifically, their altered states during flotation exhibited ontological parallels with mythic conceptions of space, time, and substance.

The findings support the hypothesis that the perceived illogicality in altered states arises from a distinct cognitive framework rather than from deficits.