Front Psychol
November 23, 2021
90 citations
Psychedelics may function as tools for transmitting beliefs by enhancing suggestibility and persuasion within ritual contexts. The interaction of set (the user's mindset), setting (the physical and social environment), and the pharmacological effects of hallucinogens can create a heightened state of openness to new ideas and experiences. This process, often occurring in structured rituals, facilitates the adoption of specific beliefs or worldviews. The paper argues that the ritual use of psychedelics can be understood as a mechanism for belief transmission, where the drug's effects are harnessed to promote suggestibility and persuasion, thereby shaping individual and collective belief systems.
Front Psychol
January 24, 2017
70 citations
Perception and cognition are largely independent systems, but they still influence each other in systematic ways. Evidence from evolution and from the dissociation between consciousness and attention shows that the two processes operate with distinct principles and neural mechanisms, yet their interactions are structured rather than arbitrary. The argument draws on evolutionary considerations and empirical findings to support the view that perception and cognition are separate but interacting faculties.
Front Psychol
August 7, 2020
35 citations
Some Eastern traditions claim that a state of consciousness without any mental content is possible through meditation, but this challenges Western theories that view intentionality—being about something—as essential to consciousness. The ascending reticular arousal system (ARAS) model attempts to explain such minimal phenomenal experience by proposing a special type of non-conceptual content. Examining related states like dreamless sleep may clarify whether contentless consciousness exists. A continuous state without content might also explain the felt continuity of conscious experience. The paper argues for the necessity of postulating consciousness without content and discusses its implications for current theories of consciousness.
Front Psychol
November 10, 2015
27 citations
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Front Psychol
October 21, 2022
25 citations
Enactivists claim their approach will replace cognitivism as the dominant paradigm in cognitive science. This paper examines their arguments and finds them unconvincing. The 'hard sell'—that enactivism reveals a critical explanatory gap in cognitivism—fails because cognitivism faces no internal crisis, and enactivism does not offer inherently better explanations. The 'soft sell'—that enactivism provides a more attractive or parsimonious lens—rests on a misunderstanding of how scientific theories are selected. Instead, the authors support viewing enactivism as a philosophy of nature, which integrates scientific questions into a cohesive picture rather than supporting a single research paradigm.
Front Psychol
February 5, 2025
21 citations
The article argues that in psychedelic-assisted therapy, the psychotherapeutic context is at least as important as the drug itself. It emphasizes that the therapeutic relationship, preparation, and integration sessions are crucial for positive outcomes, and that psychedelics should be viewed as adjuncts to psychotherapy rather than standalone treatments. The authors highlight that neglecting the psychotherapy component risks reducing efficacy and increasing potential harms.
Front Psychol
July 3, 2019
20 citations
A pilot study of 30 Chinese adults without clinical conditions found that a 6-week mindfulness-based training program was associated with increases in self-reported positive emotion and improvements in some measures of cognitive ability, including sustained attention and working memory. The authors suggest mindfulness training may benefit non-clinical populations, but note the small sample and lack of a control group limit the strength of the conclusions.
Front Psychol
May 18, 2023
19 citations
Human action can be explained not only through the normative model of decision making based on Subjective Expected Utility theory, but also through an alternative approach that merges Herbert Simon's bounded rationality with embodied cognition. This framework, termed enactive problem solving, emphasizes that problem solving involves recursive feedback processes and interaction with environmental affordances, bypassing the analytic phase of decision making. The centre of rationality lies in adaptation to the external environment rather than internal representation. This view can explain adaptive heuristics in both practical and abstract tasks.
Front Psychol
August 3, 2022
18 citations
The enactive approach, a branch of 4-E cognitive theories, offers an integrative framework for studying mental disorders by encompassing organic, sensorimotor, and intersubjective dimensions of embodiment. Drawing on Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of individuation, the article provides conceptual tools to understand the dynamic, interactive nature of human bodies in mental disorders. It analyzes five aspects of sense-making—temporality, adaptivity, multiplicity of normativities, the role of tension, and participatory character. The authors suggest that mental disorders and symptoms involve difficulties in transforming tensions and performing individuation processes, reducing the field of potentialities for self-individuation and sense-making.
Front Psychol
June 1, 2023
17 citations
The brain's production of conscious qualities like colors and pains remains unexplained by standard neuroscience, which focuses on synaptic information processing and spike codes. Electromagnetic field theories offer a promising alternative, proposing that brain-generated electromagnetic fields, rather than synaptic firing alone, give rise to qualia. This review evaluates several such theories, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses compared to standard approaches, and concludes that EM-field accounts provide more viable explanations for how qualia arise and unify into complex perceptions.
Front Psychol
July 15, 2022
16 citations
Hypnosis and meditation share some features in how they feel and in brain activity, but it is unclear whether they are fundamentally the same or different. A review of studies that directly compare them finds some evidence for differences and other evidence for similarities, yet such experiments are scarce and no consensus exists. Comparing the two could illuminate how attention, metacognition, and executive control shape consciousness, but research is still in its early stages.
Front Psychol
June 24, 2020
14 citations
A philosophical account of consciousness is developed using the concept of emergence, where each level of physical energy flow has its own operative principles that are functionally separate from lower levels, even though physical laws remain continuous. The focus is on conscious mental processing emerging from neural activity governed by biochemical principles of brain organization. A process model of consciousness is built to explain many experienced aspects of consciousness, which are rigorously defined and linked to empirical tests for identifying their neural substrates. The article concludes by discussing the evolutionary function of consciousness and critiquing Integrated Information Theory.
Front Psychol
July 29, 2015
14 citations
Consciousness is a graded, not all-or-none, phenomenon that can be characterized as dually accessible (from inside and outside), hierarchically referential, bodily determined, and useful in action. A gradational approach risks extending consciousness too broadly—for instance, information integration theory attributes miniscule consciousness even to simple artificial systems like photodiodes. The article argues for empirically justified constraints: globally, conscious systems are limited by the ability to individuate information (evolutionarily embedded, socially altered, and private); locally, limitations follow an action-oriented hypothesis about how states of consciousness are selected. This yields an abstract concept of consciousness that aims to unify the field.
Front Psychol
November 11, 2021
13 citations
MDMA was first considered as a therapeutic aid for couple therapy in the 1970s and 1980s. With the completion of the first pilot trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for couples with PTSD, and expanding regulatory possibilities, this theoretical paper examines how MDMA-assisted couples therapy works. It explores MDMA's neurobiological and neurochemical effects in a relational context, and its emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and somatic impacts within a dyadic frame. The paper discusses how empathy, communication, social connection, non-avoidance, openness, attachment, bonding, intimacy, and relationship satisfaction are influenced by MDMA and can be harnessed for interpersonal healing. A model for MDMA-assisted couple therapy is introduced, along with future directions for intervention development and delivery.
Front Psychol
March 27, 2023
12 citations
A dominant cultural frame for psychedelics over the last 130 years has been evolutionary spirituality, which holds that human evolution is unfinished and can be guided toward creating higher beings through techniques like psychedelics and eugenics or genetic modification. This essay defines that tradition and identifies five ethical limitations: spiritual narcissism, contempt for the less-evolved masses, Social Darwinism and Malthusianism, spiritual eugenics, and illiberal utopian politics. It then suggests responses to these limitations, questioning whether evolution is for everyone or only an elite.
Front Psychol
March 4, 2025
11 citations
Psychedelics may reactivate dissociated traumatic material, increasing the risk of psychological destabilization in trauma-exposed individuals. The hypothesis of Psychedelic Iatrogenic Structural Dissociation (PISD) proposes that these substances can disrupt the balance between daily functioning and trauma-related responses, leading to unintegrated memories resurfacing. A review of studies highlights persistent adverse effects such as emotional dysregulation, identity fragmentation, derealization, and perceptual disturbances, especially among those with early trauma histories. To mitigate these risks, integration practices, body-focused therapies, and structured social support are proposed. The work underscores the need for trauma-informed screening, preparation, and integration protocols to enhance safety and efficacy.
Front Psychol
October 16, 2024
11 citations
Two distinct selves are described in the literature: the narrative self, which involves conceptual self-knowledge and reflection, and the experiential self, which involves moment-to-moment awareness and embodiment. These selves are linked to separate neural circuits—the default mode network and the insula/salience network. Meditation alters these circuits, offering a plausible mechanism for changes in the sense of self. A rudimentary conceptual framework is proposed to help explain mixed results in meditation research.
Front Psychol
May 15, 2023
11 citations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong Chinese adolescents who reported higher levels of mindfulness experienced lower stress, greater life satisfaction, and stronger beliefs in their ability to savor positive experiences. The findings suggest that mindfulness may support well-being in adolescents facing significant stressors.
Front Psychol
May 4, 2023
10 citations
Cognitive liberty is an update of freedom of thought for the 21st century, protecting people's right to use or refrain from using emerging neurotechnologies and psychedelics, especially against coercive and non-consensual uses. This philosophical paper conceptualizes cognitive liberty and the psychedelic humanities, arguing that the humanities play an underexplored but crucial role in psychedelic research. It addresses philosophical uses of psychedelics beyond ritual and therapeutic contexts, suggesting that non-clinical uses can broaden understanding of consciousness and ethical issues in science. The psychedelic humanities offer a framework for examining the interplay between science and culture.
Front Psychol
November 17, 2020
9 citations
Altered consciousness is a common symptom across many psychological disorders, yet clinical psychology and psychiatry lack a clear framework for recognizing, understanding, and treating these disturbances. This paper reviews how the DSM-5 and ICD-10 currently address consciousness, summarizes psychological and theoretical perspectives, and offers a practical clinical definition of consciousness linked to various diagnoses. Using Jean-Paul Sartre's distinctions among states, functions, qualities, and structure, it provides a conceptual framework to refine diagnostics and guide therapeutic possibilities in clinical practice.
Front Psychol
January 23, 2020
9 citations
Vipassana meditation practitioners show different patterns of how sleep consolidates procedural memories compared to non-meditators. The study compared overnight memory retention in meditators and controls, finding that meditators exhibited distinct consolidation processes, suggesting that long-term meditation practice alters sleep-dependent memory processing.
Front Psychol
April 13, 2021
8 citations
This editorial introduces a collection of research exploring the neurophysiology of silence from multiple perspectives, including neuroscience, psychology, education, and contemplative traditions. It argues that silence is not merely the absence of sound but an active state that can influence brain function, cognitive processes, and well-being. The editorial highlights how silence may promote mental clarity, stress reduction, and restorative states, with potential applications in learning and education. It sets the stage for examining how silence affects brain activity, cognitive benefits, and psychological health, suggesting that understanding these mechanisms could inform practices for enhancing mental clarity and knowledge acquisition.
Front Psychol
April 23, 2024
7 citations
The paper argues that trans-humanism should be understood more broadly within life and death education, proposing a 'trans-mystical mindset' that integrates spiritual and mystical perspectives alongside technological enhancement. It suggests that focusing solely on technological transcendence neglects existential questions about mortality and meaning. The authors advocate for a holistic framework that includes spiritual growth and inner wisdom to address human flourishing and the ultimate questions of life and death.
Front Psychol
September 28, 2023
7 citations
Consciousness is often treated as a powerless byproduct of brain activity, but Integrated Information Theory (IIT) gives it causal force by identifying it with a specific physical structure. However, any such identity leads to panpsychism and undermines the theory's claim to fundamentality. A new deductive argument from phenomenologically certain premises shows that conscious experience itself creates additional degrees of causal freedom, independent of its content, in a way that is unpredictable and unobservable by sequential means. This yields a fundamental principle bridging consciousness and physics, making testable predictions about brain function that differ from IIT and are empirically checkable.
Front Psychol
October 26, 2022
7 citations
The editorial explores how enactivism and active inference can inform the therapeutic alliance, arguing that these frameworks offer a more dynamic, embodied, and relational understanding of the client-therapist interaction than traditional models. It suggests that the therapeutic process involves mutual prediction error minimization and sense-making between both parties, emphasizing co-construction of meaning and adaptive change. The piece advocates for integrating these perspectives to enhance clinical practice and theory.