Psychedelics can re-orient beliefs, but they may also produce false insights that lead to false beliefs. A model based on the active inference framework connects laboratory findings on false insights and false memories to psychedelic experiences. Subjective and brain-based changes from psychedelics increase the quantity and intensity of insights and beliefs, including false ones. The neurobiological action of psychedelics may heighten the experience of insight, enabling flexible belief updating but also the adoption of false beliefs. Future research should aim to minimize the risk of false and potentially harmful beliefs to safely leverage psychedelics' therapeutic potential.
Altered states of consciousness (ASCs) similar to those induced by psychedelics can be achieved through circular breathwork, a non-pharmacological practice. During breathwork sessions, deliberate hyperventilation reduces end-tidal CO2 pressure, which is significantly correlated with the onset of ASCs. The depth of these ASCs predicted subsequent improvements in well-being and reductions in depressive symptoms. Two forms of breathwork, Holotropic and Conscious-Connected, produced highly similar outcomes. The findings identify physiological conditions for ASCs outside of drug use, suggesting breathwork's potential as an accessible psychotherapeutic tool.