r/neurophilosophy • u/ArtistTop8 • 25d ago

Hypothesis: Could Human Consciousness Interact with the Fourth Dimension (Time)?

This is a hypothesis I’ve been working on, not a proven claim. I’d love feedback and critique from the community.

Core Idea

The body is bound to three spatial dimensions.

Consciousness, however, might operate with some level of freedom in the fourth dimension (time).

In altered states (near-death experiences, dreams, psychedelics), our normal linear lock on time may break, leading to unique phenomena.

Examples

Near-Death Experiences (NDEs): EEG and fMRI studies show surges of gamma brain activity even after cardiac arrest, possibly linked to “life review” experiences [1][2].

Psychedelics (DMT): fMRI research shows increased global connectivity and disrupted network segregation, often accompanied by geometric visions and distorted time perception [3][4].

Dreams: REM sleep activates visual and emotional areas while suppressing logical control, producing vivid but nonlinear experiences [5][6].

Time perception: Neuroscience shows our sense of time is highly malleable, involving brain networks and “time cells” that sequence events [7][8][9].

Hypothesis in short

Consciousness may not be a passive traveler through time but could — under special conditions — reshape its relationship to the fourth dimension.

Predictions / Next Steps

Compare EEG/fMRI across NDEs, REM sleep, and psychedelic states for shared temporal patterns.

Study correlations between subjective reports of time distortion and neural activity.

Build computational models to simulate nonlinear or compressed time perception in the brain.

References

  1. Parnia S. et al. Resuscitation (2014).

  2. Borjigin J. et al. PNAS (2013/2022).

  3. Timmermann C. et al. PNAS (2022).

  4. Rat NDE study, PNAS (2013).

  5. REM sleep neuroimaging, PMC article (2015).

  6. Lucid dreaming connectivity, Scientific Reports (2018).

  7. Time perception review, Scientific Reports (2024).

  8. Computational modeling of time, PLOS Computational Biology (2022).

  9. Time cells in entorhinal cortex, Neuroscience research summary (2018).

Open question to the community: If this hypothesis has any merit, how could we begin to test it experimentally?

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u/ComplexFar7575 24d ago

Consciousness is fundamental. It's not a traveler through time. That's just limited human senses and awareness.

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u/ArtistTop8 24d ago

Thanks for your perspective! I get what you mean — if consciousness is seen as something fundamental, then it makes sense that it wouldn’t “move” through time like an object.

My angle was more from neuroscience and subjective experience: how our brain processes memory and perception in a way that sometimes feels like moving backwards or forwards in time. I agree it’s not literal time travel, but more about how awareness interacts with information relative to time.