Subanaesthetic ketamine and altered states of consciousness in humans
British Journal of Anaesthesia April 13, 2018 Phillip E. Vlisides, Tarik Bel‐bahar, Amanda Nelson et al. 117 citations
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Tarik Bel‐bahar
New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute
2 papers in the library · 168 citations · publishing 2018-2021
Papers
Neural Correlates of the Shamanic State of Consciousness
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience March 18, 2021 Emma R. Huels, Hyoungkyu Kim, UnCheol Lee et al. 51 citations
Shamanic practitioners in trance show brain changes that overlap with but are distinct from those caused by psychedelic drugs. In 24 practitioners and 24 controls, EEG recordings during shamanic drumming revealed increased gamma power linked to visual changes, decreased low alpha and increased low beta connectivity, reduced gamma-band signal diversity tied to insightfulness, and increased criticality in beta and gamma bands correlating with complex imagery. Practitioners' altered-state scores matched or exceeded those of people on psychedelics. The findings indicate that shamanic trance and psychedelic states share some phenomenal features but produce unique neural signatures.