Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42482982›Full record

ArticleNeuroscience of consciousness2026

A Rosetta Stone hypothesis for neurophenomenology: mathematical predictions from predictive processing.

Lancelot Da Costa, Anil K Seth, Karl Friston, Maxwell J D Ramstead, Lars Sandved-Smith

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuroscience of consciousness, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Gradient-Free De Novo Learning.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Lancelot Da CostaVERSES AI Research Lab, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90016, United States.
Anil K SethSussex Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Sussex House, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RH, United Kingdom.
Karl FristonVERSES AI Research Lab, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, 8th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90016, United States.
Maxwell J D RamsteadWellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.
Lars Sandved-SmithMonash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Monash University, 29 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Consciousness science faces the challenge of bridging first-person experience with third-person empirical measurements. Neurophenomenology aims to build such 'generative passages' connecting the content of experience with behavioural and neuroscientific data. However, the mathematical machinery for such bridges remains underdeveloped. Here we develop a Rosetta Stone hypothesis from predictive processing, where beliefs serve as a central hub connecting phenomenology, behaviour, and neural dynamics. This hinges on a central technical assumption that phenomenology is a function of beliefs. We pursue a conditional approach: if this assumption holds, then certain predictions mathematically follow. We derive predictions for subjective similarity judgements, cognitive metabolic cost, subjective cognitive effort, and time perception. We review the connection between beliefs and neural dynamics to complete the generative passage for neurophenomenology, omitting the connection between beliefs and behaviour as this is already well-documented elsewhere. Testing our predictions will inform the validity of the central assumption connecting beliefs and phenomenology, and advance the neurophenomenology research programme.

Indexed as

beliefgenerative passageinferencemathematical consciousness sciencephenomenology

Identifiers

PMID42482982
PMCPMC13387462

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.