Psychopharmacology
March 7, 2020
Jay A. Olson, Léah Suissa-Rocheleau, Michael Lifshitz et al.
148 citations
A placebo can produce psychedelic-like experiences in some people when the setting and expectations are carefully arranged. In a 4-hour group study with music, colored lights, and visual projections, 33 students took a placebo described as a psilocybin-like drug. Many reported no changes, but others showed effects as strong as those from moderate or high psilocybin doses. Most (61%) verbally reported some effect, such as seeing paintings move or reshape, feeling heavy, or experiencing a "come down" and then another "wave." Context and expectations can mimic psychedelic effects even without the drug.
Frontiers in human neuroscience
January 1, 2013
Michael Lifshitz, Emma P Cusumano, Amir Raz
28 citations
Hypnosis can rapidly and dramatically alter subjective experience with just a few words of suggestion, unlike contemplative practices requiring lengthy training. Individuals highly responsive to hypnosis can quickly manifest atypical conscious experiences and override deeply entrenched processes, offering new ways to suspend habitual attention and achieve refined meta-awareness. Hypnosis research also illuminates how suggestion, expectation, and interpersonal factors shape experience beyond hypnotic procedures. Incorporating hypnosis into neurophenomenology could help bridge subjective experience with third-person scientific approaches to the mind.
Transcultural Psychiatry
August 29, 2022
Ayse Ceren Kaypak, Amir Raz
17 citations
Microdosing—repeated, intermittent ingestion of sub-perceptual amounts of psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, and DMT—has emerged as a social trend and potential therapeutic intervention, yet its effects remain largely unexplored in formal research. Unlike macrodosing, which produces full-blown psychedelic experiences, microdosing aims to maintain or improve cognitive and mental function without disrupting daily routines. Informal accounts suggest benefits for mental disorders, creativity, cognition, and personal growth, but controlled studies are scarce. This article synthesizes clinical, social, and cultural dimensions of microdosing, examining why the practice is gaining popularity, weighing potential benefits and risks, and discussing sociocultural implications. It also compares macro- and microdose effects on behavior and psychopathology in relation to dosage and context.
Transcultural Psychiatry
October 1, 2022
Alice Wong, Amir Raz
10 citations
Microdosing—taking tiny, non-hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin repeatedly—has become common but remains understudied. Users report improved creativity, productivity, and mood. This critical integrative synthesis examines the psychobiological science of dose amounts to help distinguish genuine drug effects from expectations. It outlines regulatory obstacles for Schedule I drugs in the United States and proposes future research directions in cognitive neuroscience, consciousness studies, and mental health.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2014
Emma P Cusumano, Amir Raz
8 citations
Psychoanalysis offers phenomenological tools that can advance the study of consciousness, addressing a gap in cognitive sciences where techniques for elucidating subjective life are lacking. Experiential reporting methods must match complex theories of brain function and sophisticated neuroimaging. Psychoanalysts use systematic observation and unstructured narrative to help patients articulate experience and bring unconscious contents to awareness. Individuals who have undergone analysis become experts in discerning subjective experience, making them ideal for neurophenomenology. Analytic techniques can guide untrained participants toward greater awareness of selfhood, temporality, and inter-subjectivity. Mining psychoanalysis for methodological innovations offers a fresh direction for neuropsychoanalysis and cognitive science.