Altered states phenomena induced by visual flicker light stimulation
PLoS ONE July 1, 2021 Marie Therese Bartossek, Johanna Kemmerer, Timo Torsten Schmidt 43 citations
Flickering light with closed eyes temporarily alters consciousness, producing simple visual hallucinations like colors and geometric patterns. In 24 participants, 10 Hz stimulation caused stronger effects than 3 Hz, including vivid visual hallucinations. Participants' Absorption personality trait strongly correlated with the intensity of altered consciousness. The effects were rated similar in strength to those from psychedelic substances, supporting the study of shared brain mechanisms.