Frontiers in Psychology
May 23, 2017
Berit Brogaard, Dimitria Electra Gatzia
80 citations
Mental imagery and visual perception may not rely on the same brain mechanisms as traditionally thought. While some evidence from brain stimulation suggests overlap, studies of brain-damaged patients show that people can lose mental imagery without losing perception, and vice versa. This review argues that conscious visual imagery and vision-for-perception use distinct mechanisms, but vision-for-action and unconscious visual imagery share overlapping mechanisms. The authors propose modifying Kosslyn's model of imagery to include unconscious imagination and explore how conscious visual imagery can feel picture-like even though its neural basis differs from that of visual experience.
Elsevier eBooks
January 1, 2016
Berit Brogaard, Dimitria Electra Gatzia
46 citations
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring hallucinogen, enhances multisensory integration and communication among sensory systems. In a study involving 60 participants, those who received psilocybin showed a 40% improvement in olfactory function compared to a control group. This aligns with findings on other psychedelics like lysergic acid diethylamide and mescaline, which also influence serotonin pathways. The biochemical analysis revealed that these substances can alter sensory perceptions, leading to phenomena like synesthesia, where stimulation of one sense involuntarily triggers another, offering new insights into cognitive psychology.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
September 7, 2016
Berit Brogaard, Dimitria Electra Gatzia
9 citations
The article argues that the concept of the self is not a static entity but a dynamic process that emerges from the interactions between brain, body, and environment. It suggests that understanding the self requires integrating insights from neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, and that this dynamic view has implications for fields like neuroprosthetics and brain-computer interfaces. The authors propose that the self is continuously constructed through neural and bodily activity, challenging traditional notions of a fixed identity.
September 13, 2024
Berit Brogaard, Dimitria Electra Gatzia
Psilocybin-induced visual distortions and impaired executive functioning arise from temporary disruptions of attentional mechanisms. The predictive processing account of neural processing cannot provide a unified model of the perceptual mechanisms behind psychedelic experiences caused by classic hallucinogens like psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline. An alternative theory, the Gist Theory of Perception, is proposed to better explain how attentional disruptions from psilocybin may elicit psychedelic experiences.