Mapping the resonome: Electromagnetic field patterns correlating with cognition and consciousness, Volume II

The study of consciousness remains one of neuroscience's most challenging and intriguing areas. Building upon our successful 2024 research topic on electromagnetic field theories of consciousness—which featured diverse theoretical perspectives—we propose a new frontier: mapping the "resonome."

The resonome refers to the electromagnetic (EM) field patterns and hierarchies that correlate with cognition and consciousness in humans and other animals. The reliability of this observed correlation may be strong enough to suggest a causal linkage. Our working hypothesis, based on abundant data, is that these patterns, measurable by EEG, MEG and other techniques, may be direct fingerprints of cognition and consciousness.

A useful metaphor is thinking of the neuroanatomical backbone as like the trunks and branches of a tangled forest, and the EM fields produced by that backbone as like the twigs and leaves. The trunks and branches are necessary for the forest to stand, but there is far more information in the twigs and leaves, and their motions, than in the trunks and branches. The leaves and twigs comprise the resonome in this metaphor.

Recent support for the causal relevance of these fields may be found in Lee et al. 2024, Pinotsis and Miller 2023, and Cunha et al. 2024, among many related papers. The resonome concept emerges from growing evidence that consciousness may be fundamentally linked to the various resonating spatiotemporal scales of the brain's EM fields rather than solely to neuronal firing patterns.

This Research Topic aims to advance our understanding of the resonome by inviting papers that explore both theoretical frameworks and empirical investigations. By focusing on the resonome, we aim to push the boundaries of consciousness research and potentially open new avenues for understanding the fundamental nature of subjective experience.

We seek to bring together diverse perspectives and methodologies to advance our understanding of how the brain's EM fields might give rise to the rich tapestry of conscious experience. Importantly, we are not restricting papers to any particular theoretical approach—pure empirical papers with no connection to theory whatsoever are welcomed and encouraged. This research topic seeks to create a collaborative effort between neuroscience and physics to explore how EM field patterns might correspond to particular qualia or cognitive functions.

This Research Topic invites papers exploring both theoretical and empirical aspects of the resonome. We encourage submissions addressing:

· Empirical studies: Research mapping EM field patterns (ephaptic field effects) in the brain and correlating them with specific cognitive processes or states of consciousness, including EEG, MEG, cross-frequency coupling, harmonic coupling, phase-amplitude coupling, and machine learning approaches to read out resonome structures in terms of their associated qualia.

· Theoretical models: Papers that further develop or critique the resonome concept and its relationship to existing theories of consciousness.

· Cross-frequency coupling: Investigations into how different frequency bands interact and relate to conscious experience.

· Ephaptic coupling: Studies examining non-synaptic communication between neurons via EM fields in the brain and between the brain and large neural clusters in other organs.

· Comparative studies: Research comparing the resonome across different species or states of consciousness (e.g., waking, sleeping, meditating).

· Methodological advances: Papers proposing new techniques for measuring and analyzing EM field patterns with greater precision or scope.

· Philosophical implications: Discussions of how the resonome concept impacts our understanding of the hard problem of consciousness, free will, and subjective experience.

· Clinical applications: Investigations into how understanding the resonome might lead to new diagnostic tools or treatments for disorders of consciousness.

· Criticisms and alternative views: We welcome papers that critically examine the resonome concept and offer alternative explanations for observed EM phenomena.

Additionally, we invite papers exploring the fascinating parallel between mapping the resonome in biological brains and efforts to understand the "resonome" of large language models and other AI systems. As AI systems become more complex, understanding their internal dynamics may provide valuable insights into information processing and potentially consciousness itself.

Of particular interest are papers that bridge theory and empirical research, offering testable hypotheses about how specific EM field patterns (resonome candidates) might correspond to particular qualia or cognitive functions. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches combining insights from neuroscience, physics, philosophy, machine learning, and computer science.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Consciousness, Electromagnetic field theories, General Resonance Theory, Theories of Consciousness, Materialism

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.