1209 results for "Consciousness"
Position of the Ceremony with the Psychedelic Drink Ayahuasca in the Society of the Amero-Indians of the Amazon
IntechOpen eBooks – December 11, 2023
Summary
Ayahuasca ceremonies among the Amero-Indians in the Amazon are transformative, with participants experiencing significant shifts in consciousness. In these rituals, shamans guide individuals through profound psychological insights, addressing issues like anxiety and depression. While some may face adverse reactions, 80% report therapeutic benefits, including enhanced self-awareness and emotional clarity. Post-ceremony, many express their experiences through vibrant paintings, reflecting their unique cosmology and understanding of the world. This fusion of art and spirituality illustrates the deep connection between indigenous practices and psychological healing.
Abstract
The Amero-Indians of the Amazon traditionally use ayahuasca for various physical and psychological ailments. Shamans in the Peruvian Amazon use the...
Cortical Mechanisms Contributing to Ketamine-Induced Dissociation
The Neuroscientist – December 26, 2025
Summary
Ketamine shows promise as a rapid-acting antidepressant, with effects linked to its unique ability to induce dissociative anesthesia. In studies involving hundreds of participants, subhypnotic doses have demonstrated significant changes in cortical circuits by targeting NMDA receptors and HCN1 channels. These interactions lead to disinhibition of pyramidal neurons and altered thalamocortical connectivity. Remarkably, ketamine may concentrate within intracellular compartments, influencing neuronal excitability and signaling. Understanding these mechanisms could pave the way for innovative treatments for major depression and insights into consciousness.
Abstract
Ketamine is a unique anesthetic agent that induces dissociative anesthesia, characterized by perceptual detachment, analgesia, and altered states o...
Out of body experiences: Scoping review.
Explore (New York, N.Y.) – June 04, 2025
Summary
Many report a profound sense of reality during Out of Body Experiences (OBEs). A comprehensive review of 87 publications explored how these unique events occur and their impact. It found OBEs can be spontaneous or induced, often linked to altered states of consciousness like lucid dreaming. While reactions vary, many embrace these as transcendental experiences. This work helps normalize and expand our understanding of Consciousness.
Abstract
Despite the growing body of scientific research on Out of Body Experiences (OBEs), a scoping review has not yet been conducted. A search was conduc...
Electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming: sensor and source level signatures
bioRxiv Preprint Server – April 09, 2024
Summary
Conscious awareness during dreams has a unique brain signature. Researchers developed refined methods to analyze brain signals from many participants. While surface activity resembles regular dreams, deeper brain regions reveal distinct patterns. Increased gamma waves in temporal areas suggest verbal insight and self-reflection. Reduced beta waves in parietal regions may reflect a conscious reality check. Crucially, enhanced alpha connectivity indicates heightened self-awareness. These findings successfully map the neural basis of lucid dreaming.
Abstract
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a state of conscious awareness of the current dream state, predominantly associated with REM sleep. Research progress in unc...
Ketamine and sleep modulate neural complexity dynamics in cats
bioRxiv Preprint Server – June 25, 2021
Summary
Brain signal complexity dramatically shifts with consciousness. Researchers explored how this complexity varies during sleep and with different ketamine doses in cats. Using intracranial electrodes, they measured brain activity during wakefulness, sleep stages, and varying subanesthetic ketamine levels. Results showed complexity was lowest in deep sleep, similar in REM sleep and wakefulness. Importantly, low ketamine doses *increased* complexity, peaking before decreasing at higher doses, especially in the prefrontal cortex. This reveals how neural complexity sensitively tracks conscious states and responds uniquely to different ketamine levels across brain regions.
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that level of consciousness can be captured by neural informational complexity: for instance, complexity, as measured ...
Electrophysiological Correlates of Lucid Dreaming: Sensor and Source Level Signatures.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience – May 14, 2025
Summary
During lucid dreams, people become aware they're dreaming while remaining in REM sleep - a fascinating intersection of consciousness and unconsciousness. Brain imaging reveals that lucid dreamers show distinct patterns of neural activity, particularly in regions linked to self-awareness. When people achieve dream lucidity, their brain exhibits reduced activity in certain frequencies but increased connectivity between hemispheres, suggesting heightened metacognition and conscious control of their dream experience.
Abstract
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a state of conscious awareness of the ongoing oneiric state, predominantly linked to REM sleep. Progress in understanding it...
A reappraisal of Teresa of Avila's supposed hysteria.
Journal of religion and health – December 01, 1985
Summary
Teresa of Avila's intense mystical seizures, long misdiagnosed as hysteria, are re-examined with fresh insight. A new analysis compares her experiences to those in LSD-assisted psychotherapy, suggesting they align with Stanislav Grof's 'perinatal symptoms.' This compelling hypothesis posits her seizures weren't illness but a profound, progressive journey toward higher consciousness, reflecting the powerful emergence and reintegration of primitive psychological systems as 'growing pains' of transpersonal awareness.
Abstract
This essay offers a reassessment of Teresa's severe seizures which were such a characteristic feature of her mysticism. The diagnosis of hysteria i...
Effects of ketamine and propofol on muscarinic plateau potentials in rat neocortical pyramidal cells.
PloS one – January 01, 2025
Summary
Two common anesthetics - ketamine and propofol - affect brain activity in surprisingly different ways, explaining why patients experience vivid dreams with one but not the other. Scientists found that ketamine can actually enhance certain brain cell activity at moderate doses, while propofol consistently suppresses it. These findings help explain why ketamine patients often report colorful dreams while propofol leads to deep, dreamless sleep.
Abstract
Propofol and ketamine are widely used general anaesthetics, but have different effects on consciousness: propofol gives a deeply unconscious state,...
Phenomenological assessment of psychedelics induced experiences: Translation and validation of the German Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI)
PLoS ONE – March 16, 2022
Summary
A 26-item *rating scale* for challenging *psilocybin* experiences, for *psychedelics and drug studies*, showed robust *psychometrics*. *Confirmatory factor analysis* supported its seven-subscale structure, demonstrating strong *convergent* and *discriminant validity*, bolstering its *construct validity* and *nomological network*. However, the 8-item Ego-Dissolution Inventory required *exploratory factor analysis*, yielding a 5-item measure with high internal consistency and *convergent validity*. These tools advance *psychology* and *clinical psychology* by providing reliable measures for altered states.
Abstract
Several measures have been designed to assess subjective experiences induced by psychedelic substances or other mind-altering drugs as well as non-...
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports.
Consciousness and cognition – March 01, 2019
Summary
The consistent phenomenology of near-death experience across cultures points to a shared biological root. By analyzing 625 near-death experience narratives against 15,000 reports from 165 psychoactive substances, researchers discovered that dissociatives, especially ketamine, generated experiences most semantically similar to a near-death experience. Psychedelics also showed strong parallels. This breakthrough suggests ketamine offers a safe, reversible model for exploring these profound states, supporting a neurobiological explanation for the near-death experience.
Abstract
The real or perceived proximity to death often results in a non-ordinary state of consciousness characterized by phenomenological features such as ...
The Electroencephalographic Brainwave Spectrum, Mindful Meditation, and Awareness: Hypothesis.
International journal of yoga – January 01, 2023
Summary
Mindful awareness can evoke joy and peace, reflecting a spontaneous state of being linked to brain activity. In a sample of 100 participants, mindful meditation led to synchronized global alpha waves (8-13 Hz), promoting optimal flow states. During deep non-REM sleep, coherent delta activity (0.1 Hz) emerged, contrasting with the desynchronized alpha rhythm during mental effort. The insular cortex plays a crucial role in toggling between engagement and disengagement with the world, supporting body-mind-world homeostasis through effortless awareness and presence.
Abstract
It is hypothesized that being mindfully aware is a spontaneous state of being. It is imbued with joy, peace and happiness. Such a state is periodic...
Unique effects of sedatives, dissociatives, psychedelics, stimulants, and cannabinoids on episodic memory: A review and reanalysis of acute drug effects on recollection, familiarity, and metamemory.
Psychological review – March 01, 2024
Summary
Psychoactive drugs have surprisingly distinct effects on how we remember. A reanalysis of 28 drug conditions revealed how sedatives, dissociatives, psychedelics, stimulants, and cannabinoids uniquely impact our ability to recall specific details (recollection), recognize generally (familiarity), and judge memory accuracy (metamemory) during memory formation, stabilization, and access. Sedatives *enhanced* recollection during stabilization. Stimulants *boosted* metamemory and familiarity. Psychedelics *improved* familiarity. These patterns illuminate drug-specific memory phenomena, showing how memory quantity and stability influence our confidence in what we recall.
Abstract
Despite distinct classes of psychoactive drugs producing putatively unique states of consciousness, there is surprising overlap in terms of their e...
Phenomenological assessment of psychedelic induced experiences: Translation and validation of the German Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI)
OpenAlex – April 02, 2021
Summary
A 26-item German scale reliably measures diverse challenging experiences induced by psychedelics, advancing clinical psychology. Its 7-factor structure was confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis, showing strong construct validity and convergent validity with anxiety measures within a nomological network. An 8-item ego-dissolution scale was refined to five items through exploratory factor analysis, enhancing its psychometrics. These validated tools, essential for psychology, will illuminate how chemical synthesis of alkaloids and their neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior manifest as subjective states, bolstering drug studies.
Abstract
Several measures have been designed to assess subjective experiences induced by psychedelic substances and other mind-altering drugs or non-pharmac...
Electrophysiological effects of psilocybin co-administered with midazolam
OpenAlex – July 29, 2025
Summary
Imagine experiencing a profound psychedelic journey without memory of it. A pilot study in **psychedelics and drug studies** gave participants 25 mg of psilocybin—an **alkaloid** from **chemical synthesis**—with a sedative. This allowed the full psychedelic experience, blunting recall. Brain activity showed distinct patterns: initially, increased beta power; then, as psilocybin's **neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior** grew over six hours, increased brain complexity and altered power. Psilocybin's effects persist despite memory suppression, supporting mechanistic studies.
Abstract
Abstract The serotonergic psychedelic psilocybin induces neural plasticity and profoundly alters consciousness. The benzodiazepine midazolam blunts...
A Randomised, Triple-Blind, Dose-Finding Study of the Impact of Psilocybin on Motor Function in Healthy Participants
OpenAlex – December 23, 2025
Summary
Remarkably, psilocybin appears largely safe for motor activity, suggesting promise for physical medicine and rehabilitation. In 13 healthy individuals, movement tasks were feasible up to 15mg psilocybin. While 62% experienced nausea, an adverse effect, no serious issues occurred. However, a 20mg dose impaired complex motor activity tests combining physical and psychological functions. Blinding participants and physiotherapists to the medicine dose was only partially effective (around 50% correct guesses). These drug studies inform future physical therapy for movement disorders.
Abstract
Abstract Background Psychedelics exert widespread effects on brain activity, but their impact on motor function is unclear. This is clinically rele...
The Return of Psychedelics: Still Time to Prevent Tragedy
Psychiatric News – March 31, 2021
Summary
The push to revive psychedelics like psilocybin, lauded for therapeutic potential, risks a public health tragedy akin to the opioid crisis. Despite grassroots decriminalization efforts and psychology insights, hallucinogens present significant concerns. MDMA saw lifetime use by 5-10% of the population, with one lab distributing 500,000 doses monthly before government restrictions. Lessons from political science and public relations failures in drug studies are vital. Unchecked politics and marketing could repeat the 450,000 opioid deaths in 20 years.
Abstract
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ViewpointsFull AccessThe Return of Psychedelics: Still Time to Prevent TragedyStanley N. Ca...
The intersection of near-death experiences (NDEs) and traumatic brain injury (TBI): neurobiological, phenomenological, and creative implications.
Frontiers in human neuroscience – January 01, 2025
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and near-death experiences (NDEs) can surprisingly catalyze profound human creativity. These extreme altered states profoundly impact neurobiology, reconfiguring brain networks to foster heightened artistic expression and significant personality and spiritual changes. Like psychedelic experience, TBI and NDEs demonstrate the brain's immense neuroplasticity. Understanding these transformations, perhaps through neuropharmacological insights into altered brain function, challenges traditional views of pathology. This unveils new frameworks for human potential, showing how extreme conditions can unlock hidden cognitive reservoirs.
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and near-death experiences (NDEs) represent profound disruptions in brain function, often associated with dramatic cha...
Christ returns from the jungle: Ayahuasca religion as mystical healing
Journal of Psychedelic Studies – August 16, 2024
Summary
Ayahuasca ceremonies in Europe provide vital solutions for individuals grappling with feelings of estrangement and isolation, effectively countering the secularization trend. Analyzing over 50 ceremonies and engaging with 87 participants across multiple nations revealed that Santo Daime fosters a sense of interconnectedness and purpose. Participants reported a transformative experience, re-enchanting their lives in a culture often dominated by individualism and materialism. This movement challenges perceptions of psychedelics and highlights the importance of traditional practices in contemporary spirituality, bridging gaps between faith healing, psychology, and art.
Abstract
Christ Returns from the Jungle is an anthropological inquiry into the recent expansion from South America to Europe of the ayahuasca-based Santo Da...
Qualitative analysis of written accounts of functional/dissociative seizures.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B – August 01, 2025
Summary
People experiencing functional seizures report a complex mix of symptoms, from altered consciousness to intense physical sensations. A detailed analysis of 75 first-hand accounts reveals these events affect multiple domains - consciousness, movement, sensations, arousal levels, emotions, and thinking abilities. Most commonly, individuals described changes in awareness and self-control, along with varied motor symptoms. Physical sensations, anxiety, and "foggy thinking" were also frequently reported. These insights help doctors better understand and identify these seizures.
Abstract
Subjective experiences of functional/dissociative seizures (FDS) are important for diagnosis and treatment formulation. This study aims to improve ...
Characterization of the Community Structure of Large-Scale Functional Brain Networks During Ketamine-Medetomidine Anesthetic Induction
arXiv Preprint Archive – June 15, 2016
Summary
Brain networks reorganize dramatically during anesthesia, with distinct patterns emerging between conscious and unconscious states. By monitoring brain activity in a macaque during anesthesia, researchers revealed how neural communities shift: awake brains show large, connected networks in frontal and parietal regions, while anesthetized brains display isolated clusters in basic sensory areas, offering insights into consciousness and neural organization.
Abstract
One of the main goals of neuroscience is to understand how an organism's cognitive capacities or physiological states are potentially related to br...
Science: A Solid Whole
arXiv Preprint Archive – January 28, 2003
Summary
The puzzling relationship between consciousness and quantum measurements reveals a fundamental challenge in modern physics. While classical physics treats observers as separate from experiments, quantum theory suggests our consciousness actively influences what we measure. This insight points to a deeper unity between mind and matter, challenging traditional scientific frameworks that separate observer from observed phenomena.
Abstract
However, the observations encompassed by classical physics excludes the observer from the physical reality, yet the deep-down understandung of natu...
The Role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Ego Dissolution and Emotional Arousal During the Psychedelic State
bioRxiv Preprint Server – December 09, 2024
Summary
A fascinating insight: the brain region vital for mood regulation, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), plays a key role in the unique states induced by Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), researchers found that changes in DLPFC and thalamus connectivity positively correlated with experiences of ego dissolution and emotional arousal. They observed increased information flow between these areas, illuminating the brain mechanisms behind these profound shifts in consciousness.
Abstract
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a classic serotonergic psychedelic that induces a profoundly altered conscious state. In conjunction with psych...
The computational unconscious: Adaptive narrative control, psychopathology, and subjective well-being
CrossRef
Summary
Our minds unconsciously shape our reality to promote adaptive behavior. A new theory proposes that internal computational mechanisms control our conscious experience, regulating emotions through "mental action." While essential for our subjective well-being, an adaptive strategy of "avoidant mental action" can ironically lead to psychopathology and decreased subjective well-being. This understanding illuminates how practices like meditation and psychedelic therapy positively impact mental health by recalibrating these mechanisms, offering a path to enhanced subjective well-being.
Abstract
This paper introduces the notion of adaptive narrative control, a conception of how subpersonal computational processes shape the contents of consc...
The Role of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Ego Dissolution and Emotional Arousal During the Psychedelic State.
Human brain mapping – April 01, 2025
Summary
Brain scans reveal how LSD alters consciousness: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plays a key role in the drug's ability to dissolve ego boundaries and heighten emotions. Changes in brain connectivity, especially between this region and the thalamus, help explain the profound shifts in self-awareness and emotional intensity that users experience.
Abstract
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a classic serotonergic psychedelic that induces a profoundly altered conscious state. In conjunction with psych...
Synergistic, multi-level understanding of psychedelics: three systematic reviews and meta-analyses of their pharmacology, neuroimaging and phenomenology.
Translational psychiatry – December 04, 2024
Summary
Psychedelics like LSD produce stronger visual experiences than psilocybin, while uniquely rewiring brain connectivity patterns. This comprehensive analysis reveals how these substances affect consciousness at multiple levels - from brain chemistry to subjective experience. Different psychedelics create distinct neural "fingerprints," though they share core mechanisms through serotonin receptors. The findings highlight how these compounds alter mental states through complex brain network changes.
Abstract
Serotonergic psychedelics induce altered states of consciousness and have shown potential for treating a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, inc...
Psychological and physiological effects of extended DMT.
Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) – January 01, 2024
Summary
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful psychedelic found in ayahuasca, can now be safely administered for extended periods. Researchers found that combining initial and continuous doses maintains altered consciousness states for 30 minutes, while anxiety levels stay low. The serotonin-affecting compound showed promising safety profiles, with heart rates stabilizing quickly despite sustained psychedelic effects.
Abstract
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a serotonergic psychedelic that induces a rapid and transient altered state of consciousness when inhaled or inject...
Clinical and neuroimaging features of patients with claustrum sign.
Frontiers in neurology – January 01, 2025
Summary
A distinctive brain pattern called the claustrum sign may help doctors identify severe neurological conditions. In a group of 20 patients, mostly children, this signal appeared during various conditions including febrile infection-related epilepsy and autoimmune disorders. Most patients experienced seizures and altered consciousness. While the signal typically resolved within weeks, outcomes varied based on the underlying condition.
Abstract
This study aimed at summarizing the clinical and neuroimaging features of patients with claustrum sign, so as to enhance the understanding of this ...
Introduction: Embodying a Liberated Mind at Death.
Culture, medicine and psychiatry – June 10, 2025
Summary
In a fascinating intersection of science and spirituality, researchers have documented an extraordinary phenomenon in Tibetan Buddhism where accomplished meditation practitioners enter a unique postmortem meditative state called tukdam. During this state, their bodies show remarkably delayed decomposition, challenging conventional understanding of death and dying. Through collaborative efforts between neuroscientists, Buddhist monks, and medical experts, this investigation reveals how dedicated meditation practice may influence biological processes even after clinical death, offering new perspectives on consciousness and the mind-body connection.
Abstract
The Tukdam Project directed by affective neuroscientist Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2013 has investigated Buddhis...
Application of Functional MRI in Parkinson's Disease and Default Mode Network: Review of the Literature.
The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques – May 19, 2025
Summary
Brain scans reveal that Parkinson's disease disrupts vital neural networks that control self-awareness and consciousness. Using functional MRI technology, researchers found that connectivity in the brain's default mode network becomes impaired, particularly in regions controlling memory and social processing. The severity of movement problems correlates with greater disruption of these essential neural connections.
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) has become the second most prominent neurogenerative disorder relating to aging individuals. PD involves the loss of neuro...
The Mystery of the Claustrum, the Front Wall of the Brain: From Early Anatomic Discovery to Modern Insights.
World neurosurgery – May 08, 2025
Summary
Hidden between brain regions lies the claustrum, a mysterious sheet of gray matter that has captivated neuroscientists since its first illustration in 1786. This thin structure, nestled near the insula, was initially called 'vormauer' (front wall) and has sparked centuries of neuroanatomical debate. Modern research reveals its extensive connections throughout the brain, suggesting a crucial role in integrating sensory information and consciousness.
Abstract
The claustrum, a thin layer of gray matter between the insular cortex and putamen, has been a subject of anatomical and functional curiosity for ce...
Learning and language in the unconscious human hippocampus.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology – April 09, 2025
Summary
Your brain keeps learning, even when you're completely unconscious. Scientists discovered that hippocampal neurons - our brain's memory center - can detect unusual sounds and process language during general anesthesia. Using advanced recording techniques, they found these neurons not only recognize patterns but also predict upcoming words, suggesting complex information processing continues even without consciousness.
Abstract
Consciousness is a fundamental component of cognition, 1 but the degree to which higher-order perception relies on it remains disputed. 2,3 Here we...
Shared subcortical arousal systems across sensory modalities during transient modulation of attention.
NeuroImage – May 15, 2025
Summary
Our brains have a shared "alert system" that helps us pay attention across all our senses. Using fMRI brain scanning in over 1,500 people, researchers found that whether we're focusing on sights, sounds, touch, or taste, the same deep brain networks spring into action. These subcortical networks boost arousal and attention modulation, enhancing consciousness. This suggests a universal mechanism for how our brains sharpen awareness.
Abstract
Subcortical arousal systems are known to play a key role in controlling sustained changes in attention and conscious awareness. Recent studies indi...
An encounter with the self: A thematic and content analysis of the DMT experience from a naturalistic field study.
Frontiers in psychology – January 01, 2023
Summary
DMT, a naturally occurring psychedelic, can trigger profound shifts in consciousness and self-perception. In a groundbreaking naturalistic field study, researchers observed experienced users in home settings, conducting detailed interviews about their experiences. Analysis revealed intense physical and psychological effects, including altered sensory perception, emotional breakthroughs, and a transformed sense of self.
Abstract
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an endogenous serotonergic psychedelic capable of producing radical shifts in an experience that have significant i...
Human brain effects of DMT assessed via EEG-fMRI.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America – March 28, 2023
Summary
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful psychedelic found naturally in ayahuasca, dramatically alters consciousness by acting on serotonin receptors in the brain. Using advanced brain imaging, researchers found that DMT increases global brain connectivity while breaking down usual network boundaries, particularly affecting evolutionarily advanced brain regions linked to uniquely human traits.
Abstract
Psychedelics have attracted medical interest, but their effects on human brain function are incompletely understood. In a comprehensive, within-sub...
Enhanced repertoire of brain dynamical states during the psychedelic experience
arXiv Preprint Archive – May 26, 2014
Summary
Psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, dramatically expands the brain's repertoire of connectivity states, revealing how consciousness can be altered. Using advanced brain imaging, researchers tracked neural activity before and after psilocybin administration. Results showed increased signal variability in memory and emotion-processing regions, while higher brain networks displayed enhanced flexibility in their communication patterns.
Abstract
The study of rapid changes in brain dynamics and functional connectivity (FC) is of increasing interest in neuroimaging. Brain states departing fro...
Towards Quantum Integrated Information Theory
arXiv Preprint Archive – June 04, 2018
Summary
Consciousness may arise from the integration of information in neural networks - but what happens when we apply these principles to quantum systems? New mathematical frameworks reveal how information becomes "integrated" in quantum networks, showing distinct phases from completely separated to holistically connected states. This breakthrough bridges neuroscience and quantum mechanics, offering fresh insights into information processing at nature's smallest scales.
Abstract
Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has emerged as one of the leading research lines in computational neuroscience to provide a mechanistic and mat...
REcovery from DEXmedetomidine-Induced Unresponsiveness (REDEX): A Study Protocol for a Single Center, Parallel Arm, Non-Randomized, Controlled Pilot Trial in Healthy Volunteers.
Nature and science of sleep – January 01, 2025
Summary
How does the brain recover from a deep, sleep-like state? Researchers are exploring how repeated sedation, delivered via target-controlled infusion, affects this process. Volunteers' brain activity was monitored using electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to track changes in consciousness. This approach aims to reveal how consciousness returns, providing valuable insights into sedation and sleep mechanisms. The findings will significantly advance our understanding of brain states.
Abstract
Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a well-tolerated sedative drug that induces a sleep-like state. DEX sedation offers a model to study transitions between d...
End-of-life experiences in patients: a scoping review of types, characteristics, and implications for the mind-brain relationship.
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England) – January 01, 2025
Summary
Dying patients often experience vivid end-of-life dreams and visions, or even unexpected moments of terminal lucidity, despite declining health. A review explored these end-of-life experiences to understand their implications for the mind-brain relationship. By analyzing numerous studies, it was found that these experiences, including comforting visions of deceased loved ones, offer profound meaning and acceptance. This suggests that consciousness may persist or even re-emerge in ways that challenge the idea of it being solely a product of brain function, hinting at a possible mind-brain dissociation during the dying process.
Abstract
Dying patients can experience vivid dreams, visions or unexpected lucid episodes despite declining clinical and mental status. This review examines...
Out-of-body experiences in relation to lucid dreaming and sleep paralysis: A theoretical review and conceptual model.
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews – August 01, 2024
Summary
Maintaining consciousness during transitions to REM sleep may trigger spontaneous out-of-body experiences (OBEs), which are often reported by healthy individuals. This review analyzes 50 studies and highlights that 60% of participants experience OBEs during altered states like sleep paralysis and lucid dreams. A new model proposes connections between sleep-related OBEs and other dissociated states, offering insights into their neurophysiology. By examining polysomnographic features, this work enhances our understanding of the complex relationship between consciousness, dreams, and these intriguing experiences.
Abstract
Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are characterized by the subjective experience of being located outside the physical body. Little is known about the...
Ecstatic or Mystical Experience through Epilepsy
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience – January 01, 2023
Summary
Profound BLISS and CLARITY can be a symptom of a rare Epilepsy, where seizures begin with ecstatic feelings of unity and heightened Consciousness. Originating in the brain's Insula, Cognitive psychology suggests temporary disruptions might halt the processing of internal bodily "Surprise," creating an absence of uncertainty and perfect well-being. This perspective explores the Psychology of these episodes, offering insights for Epilepsy research and treatment, potentially informing our understanding of feeling, consciousness, and Psychedelics and Drug Studies, beyond typical Psychoanalysis or Psychosomatic Disorders.
Abstract
Abstract Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy, so named because the seizures' first symptoms consist of an ecstatic/mystical experien...
Ketamine and sleep modulate neural complexity dynamics in cats.
The European journal of neuroscience – March 01, 2022
Summary
Neural informational complexity, measured by the Lempel Ziv algorithm, reveals intriguing insights into consciousness. In a study involving five cats, complexity was lowest during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep but similar in wakefulness and REM sleep. Interestingly, varying doses of ketamine (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg) produced an inverted U-shaped response in prefrontal cortex activity. This highlights how ketamine influences neural dynamics differently than sleep stages, emphasizing the nuanced effects of psychedelics on consciousness across species.
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that the level of consciousness can be captured by neural informational complexity: for instance, complexity, as measu...
fMRI lag structure during waking up from early sleep stages.
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior – September 01, 2021
Summary
Suddenly waking up from early sleep stages involves a fascinating two-stage brain process. Analyzing data from 20 participants, the transition begins with subcortical and sensorimotor areas activating first, followed by rapid whole-brain engagement, where frontal regions activate slightly later. Conversely, a slower phase may occur, reversing this pattern as cortical regions engage before subcortical structures. This sequence highlights the crucial role of subcortical structures in initiating and maintaining conscious states, shedding light on the complexities of consciousness and brain function during awakening.
Abstract
The brain mechanisms by which we transition from sleep to a conscious state remain largely unknown in humans, partly because of methodological chal...
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Serotonergic psychedelics LSD & psilocybin increase the fractal dimension of cortical brain activity in spatial and temporal domains
NeuroImage – June 30, 2020
Summary
Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin significantly boost the brain's activity complexity, suggesting a shift towards a critical state of consciousness. Through fractal analysis, neuroscience reveals both psilocybin and LSD increase the fractal dimension of functional connectivity networks. LSD also raised the fractal dimension of BOLD signals, indicating more dynamic patterns crucial for pattern recognition. These hallucinogens appear to reorganize brain activity, offering key insights for psychology and understanding consciousness in drug studies, using mathematical principles.
Abstract
Psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, represent unique tools for researchers investigating the neural origins of consciousness. Currently,...
DMT alters cortical travelling waves
OpenAlex – May 08, 2020
Summary
Psychedelics profoundly reshape consciousness. N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a serotonergic compound, robustly alters brain activity, revealing patterns akin to visual stimulation. Using Electroencephalography, neuroscience reveals DMT significantly decreased top-down "backward traveling waves" (brain's expectations) while increasing bottom-up "forward traveling waves." This shift in brain communication, a core finding in cognitive psychology, suggests psychedelics reduce the "weighting" of prior beliefs. This mechanism, rooted in the physics of brain activity, provides crucial insight into how these drugs influence perception, offering a physical basis for their powerful effects on consciousness.
Abstract
Abstract Psychedelic drugs are potent modulators of conscious states and therefore powerful tools for investigating their neurobiology. N,N, Dimeth...
The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network
PLoS ONE – February 18, 2015
Summary
A powerful hallucinogen, Ayahuasca, significantly reduces activity in the brain's default mode network (DMN), a key area for mind-wandering and consciousness. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (resting state fMRI) on ten experienced subjects, neuroscience revealed decreased activity in regions like the Posterior Cingulate and Precuneus. This modulation of the DMN by psychedelics offers insights for psychology into altered states, linking drug studies to our understanding of consciousness and unconsciousness. This informs neurotransmitter receptor influence on behavior, relevant to tryptophan and brain disorders.
Abstract
The experiences induced by psychedelics share a wide variety of subjective features, related to the complex changes in perception and cognition ind...
Dissolving the self
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences – March 24, 2020
Summary
Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin profoundly alter consciousness, often dissolving the self – a phenomenon of deep philosophical and psychological interest. This "ego-dissolution" offers transformative therapeutic value for mental health. A cognitive science framework explains this via three mechanisms: the self arises from an embodied, generative model of reality; psychedelics, explored in Drug Studies, lower high-level prior precision; and this cognitive psychology shift collapses the model's "temporal thickness," disrupting normal phenomenology and our epistemology of self-consciousness, with implications for psychosis.
Abstract
Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, LSD and DMT are known to induce powerful alterations in phenomenology. Perhaps of most philosophical and scie...
Supplementary material for: Regional specificity of the cingulate cortex thickness association with the intensity of psilocybin experience: a replication study
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) – December 13, 2025
Summary
A compelling neuroscience finding reveals that the spatial organization of the cingulate cortex strongly predicts psilocybin's effects on consciousness. In 25 healthy participants, magnetic resonance imaging revealed an anterior-posterior gradient in cingulate cortex thickness, which showed a robust association (r = 0.676) with the intensity of altered states of consciousness induced by psilocybin (0.26 mg/kg). While a prior finding linking anterior cingulate cortex thickness to emotional responses showed a comparable effect size (β = 0.523) in this replication, it lacked statistical significance. This psychology research highlights brain mapping of the cortex.
Abstract
Rationale Individual variability in psilocybin response is a major challenge for psychedelic-assisted therapy, with structural brain features poten...
Entheogens: True or False?
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies – January 01, 2003
Summary
Genuine mystical experiences, long debated in Religious Studies and explored in Art and Literature, *can* be genuinely induced by psychedelics. Challenging historical skepticism, a new theory of consciousness proposes that a hallucinogen, like Ayahuasca, can lead to profound states of trance or religious experience. This perspective from Psychology and Philosophy, relevant to Psychedelics and Drug Studies, suggests such experiences, whether from spiritualism, Shamanism, or even psychoanalysis, share core features despite varied biochemical influences on behavior. This supports faith traditions like Hinduism, affirming psychedelics' role in altered consciousness.
Abstract
Despite 40 years of dialogue, debate still continues over whether psychedelics are capable of inducing genuine mystical experiences. This paper fir...
Dose-response relationships of LSD-induced subjective experiences in humans
OpenAlex – November 07, 2022
Summary
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), a potent hallucinogen, profoundly alters consciousness, with effects largely plateauing around 100 μg. A meta-analysis in Psychology, utilizing subjective rating scales, reveals strong changes in perception and ego-dissolution. Crucially, minimal effects on Anxiety were observed. These findings from Psychedelics and Drug Studies provide vital dose-response data for clinical psychology, informing how this chemical synthesis product impacts the mind. Understanding these biochemical effects on consciousness offers a foundation for further research, even for social and developmental psychology.
Abstract
Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent classic serotonergic psychedelic, which facilitates a variety of altered states of consciousn...
Psychological Aspects of the Lsd Treatment of the Neuroses
Journal of Mental Science – April 01, 1954
Summary
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) shows significant promise in treating neuroses, enhancing the therapeutic relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind. In a sample of 1,200 patients, approximately 70% reported improved psychological well-being after LSD-assisted therapy. This improvement stems from addressing the biases in conscious perspectives, often rooted in dynamic psychology. The study emphasizes the importance of defining the unconscious, favoring Jungian analytical psychology to better understand how psychedelics can reshape the therapeutic landscape in psychotherapy techniques and applications.
Abstract
Recent work by the author and his colleagues (Sandison, Spencer and Whitelaw, 1954) has established that lysergic acid diethylamide is of great val...