Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2013
Thomas Metzinger
84 citations
A metatheoretical paper identifies promising interdisciplinary links between empirical dream research and philosophy of mind, focusing on the MPS-problem—the challenge of isolating and empirically grounding the simplest form of self-consciousness, or minimal phenomenal selfhood. The authors argue that studying bodiless dreams, asomatic out-of-body experiences, and full-body illusions can advance this goal. Additional research targets include refining the concept of a first-person perspective at a subcognitive level, exploring commonalities between mind-wandering and dreaming, comparing embodiment across dream and wake states, and showing that cognitive corruption and rationality deficits in dreams have more serious implications for epistemology and dream research methodology than usually assumed. The paper proposes a list of innovative research goals to strengthen connections between dream research and philosophy of mind.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2013
David P. Luke, Devin B. Terhune
81 citations
A review of published studies finds consistent evidence that serotonin agonists can temporarily produce synaesthesia, a condition where senses blend, such as seeing sounds. However, the research has many methodological flaws and little experimental work has been done. While the findings point to the serotonergic system's role in synaesthesia, the limitations prevent firm conclusions about whether chemicals truly induce genuine synaesthesia.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2013
Bhuvanesh Awasthi
81 citations
Research on meditation's neurobiological correlates often overlooks its philosophical foundations, leading to problems with definition, study design, and outcomes. A satisfactory neuroscience of meditation requires an operational definition that integrates traditional ontological descriptions with modern neurocognitive accounts. To understand how meditation works, it is essential to appraise the philosophical positions underlying its phenomenology in originating traditions. Addressing issues of definition, design, and validity of response measures is crucial for the field's evolution and will provide context for meditation-based interventions.
Frontiers in Psychology
October 6, 2021
Paul T. P. Wong, Gökmen Arslan, Victoria L. Bowers et al.
80 citations
During the COVID-19 pandemic, cultivating self-transcendence—connecting with the true self, others, and something larger—offers a promising path to personal growth and mental health. The paper explains self-transcendence using Frankl's model and Wong's extension, reviews relevant literature, and presents the Self-Transcendence Measure-Brief (STM-B) along with its psychometric history. Empirical evidence indicates that self-transcendence served as a buffer against pandemic suffering, suggesting that fostering this quality can help overcome mental health crises in difficult times.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 29, 2021
José Manuel Rodríguez Arce, Michael James Winkelman
80 citations
Our hominin ancestors likely encountered and ingested psychedelic mushrooms throughout their evolutionary history, supported by evidence from early hominins' paleodiet, primate mycophagy and self-medication, and the biogeography of psilocybin-containing fungi. Psilocybin and similar psychedelics, targeting the serotonin 2A receptor, stimulate flexible cognition, alter emotional processing and social behavior, and may have provided adaptive advantages. Their incidental inclusion in the diet and later integration into rituals could have enhanced sociality, imagination, and suggestibility, aiding adaptation to a socio-cognitive niche. The model proposes four instrumentalization goals: managing distress, enhancing social interaction, facilitating collective rituals, and improving group decision-making, potentially favoring prosociality in human evolution.
Frontiers in Psychology
December 6, 2018
Rafael Lancelotta, Austin-Marley Windham-Herman, Kristel Peterson et al.
80 citations
Vaporized 5-MeO-DMT, a psychoactive substance from the Colorado River Toad, reliably produced strong mystical experiences in 20 individuals at a psychospiritual retreat. Participants received 50 mg of inhaled bufotoxin and completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire. The average intensity was 4.17 out of 5, and 75% had a complete mystical experience. Compared to a prior psilocybin study, 5-MeO-DMT matched the intensity of a high dose (30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin and significantly exceeded a moderate/high dose (20 mg/70 kg). The short duration may benefit clinical interventions and research on mystical-type experiences.
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.
Frontiers in Psychology
October 12, 2018
Taylor Lyons, Robin Carhart‐Harris
78 citations
Patients with treatment-resistant depression showed a significant pessimism bias when predicting future life events, which was linked to the severity of their depressive symptoms. One week after receiving two doses of psilocybin (10 and 25 mg) with psychological support, this pessimism bias decreased significantly, depressive symptoms greatly improved, and patients became more accurate at predicting future events. No such change occurred in non-depressed controls. The findings suggest that psilocybin with psychological support might correct pessimism biases in treatment-resistant depression, enabling a more positive and accurate outlook.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 18, 2014
Andrew B. Newberg
77 citations
This paper offers a perspective on the current research evaluating the neurobiological correlates of spiritual practices, reviewing methodological issues that confront the field. Spiritual practices studied include prayer, meditation, mediumistic trance states, speaking in tongues, and drug-induced experiences. Neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, single photon emission computed tomography, and positron emission tomography have helped elucidate neurobiological mechanisms. Unique challenges include determining appropriate objective measures and correlating them with subjective measures that capture states of spiritual significance. A neuroscientific study of spiritual practices has the potential to further understanding of the relationship between the brain and such phenomena.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 28, 2022
Sandeep M. Nayak, Roland R. Griffiths
76 citations
Among people who reported a belief-changing psychedelic experience, attributions of consciousness to a wide range of entities increased substantially. Before and after the experience, ratings of consciousness rose for non-human primates (from 63% to 83%), quadrupeds (59% to 79%), insects (33% to 57%), fungi (21% to 56%), plants (26% to 61%), inanimate natural objects (8% to 26%), and inanimate manmade objects (3% to 15%). Higher mystical experience scores predicted larger increases. These changes persisted even years later, while beliefs in free will and superstition remained unchanged. The findings suggest psychedelic experiences can durably alter how people attribute consciousness to other beings and objects.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 2, 2018
Timo Torsten Schmidt, Hendrik Berkemeyer
75 citations
A new database, the Altered States Database (ASDB), compiles questionnaire data from research articles on experimentally induced altered states of consciousness (ASC). It includes data from MEDLINE-listed journals where ASCs were induced by pharmacological (e.g., psychoactive drugs) or non-pharmacological methods (e.g., breathing techniques, sensory deprivation) and assessed with standardized questionnaires. The database enables direct comparisons of psychological effects across different induction methods and supports meta-analyses to establish dose-response relationships specific to each method.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 14, 2016
Peter Sedlmeier, Kunchapudi Srinivas
70 citations
Ancient Indian scriptures, particularly the Samkhya-Yoga system, contain empirically derived psychological theories intertwined with religious and philosophical content. Extracting these theories yields broad hypotheses about personality, the effects of Samkhya-Yoga practice on normal and extraordinary cognition, and different ways of perceiving reality. Existing empirical evidence from diverse fields, collected mostly without reference to this Indian system, substantially supports these hypotheses, though considerable theoretical and research gaps remain. These ancient theories can modify and complement Western mainstream accounts of cognition, potentially providing stronger theoretical grounding for areas like meditation research and consciousness studies.
Frontiers in Psychology
February 18, 2020
Ulf Winter, Pierre Levan, Tilmann Lhündrup Borghardt et al.
68 citations
A highly experienced meditator with over 50,000 hours of practice reported experiencing content-free awareness (CFA) during an EEG-fMRI session. During CFA, alpha brainwave power sharply decreased while theta power increased. Functional connectivity increased in the dorsal attention network (DAN) and decreased in the posterior default mode network (DMN). These patterns suggest a top-down attentional state that excludes both external sensory stimuli and internal thoughts from conscious experience. The authors conclude that investigating such states may offer new approaches for identifying the minimal neural correlate of consciousness.
Frontiers in Psychology
August 7, 2019
M. Raab, D. Araújo
67 citations
This conceptual analysis examines how embodied cognition can operate with or without mental representations, using judgment and decision-making in sports as a lens. The authors do not advocate for a single theoretical approach but instead present two contrasting perspectives: one that assumes mental representations mediate between athlete and environment, and another that assumes direct contact without representation. They outline definitions and constructs, detail the underlying theories, and comment on two published empirical studies to illustrate each approach. The paper concludes by discussing commonalities, divergences, and the consequences of adopting each perspective in sports research.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 10, 2020
Rotem Petranker, Thomas Anderson, Norman Farb
66 citations
Psychedelic research is experiencing a resurgence after decades of prohibition, driven by dissatisfaction with conventional mental health care and pioneering work by organizations like MAPS. Positive media coverage and commercial interests have accelerated hype, creating risks of conflicts of interest and lowered scientific standards. To avoid a replication crisis similar to those in psychology and medicine, researchers must adopt rigorous, transparent methods from Open Science: preregistration, open materials and data, reporting constraints on generality, and encouraging replication. The paper provides a pragmatic checklist and discusses how higher standards can build a trustworthy psychedelic science as these substances re-enter research and society.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2013
Thomas Schäfer, Jörg Fachner, Mario Smukalla
66 citations
Music can alter people's ordinary experience of space and time, challenging the concept of invariant space and time assumed in psychology. This review examines experimental evidence and subjective reports of music's influence on the representation of space and time, along with prominent explanations for these effects. It discusses the role of absorption, altered states of consciousness, changes in attention, neurophysiological processes, and models of human time processing and time experience. The research is still inconclusive, but integrating different approaches could lead to a better understanding. A working model is provided, and suggestions for further research in music psychology and cognitive psychology are outlined.
Frontiers in Psychology
December 10, 2021
Brian A. Pace, Neşe Devenot
65 citations
Media and industry advocates claim psychedelics promote environmental concern and liberal politics, but historical and contemporary evidence shows many users remain authoritarian or become radicalized after use. The authors argue that psychedelics do not inherently shift political beliefs in any particular direction; rather, contextual factors of set and setting determine the outcome. Any worldview-challenging experience, including psychedelics, can precipitate political shifts in any direction. The historical record supports psychedelics as "politically pluripotent," non-specific amplifiers of political set and setting. Conservative, hierarchy-based ideologies can assimilate psychedelic experiences of interconnection, as seen in figures like Jordan Peterson and neo-Nazi groups.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 25, 2017
Hollis Robbins, David Smooke, Frederick S. Barrett et al.
62 citations
Music chosen to support psilocybin sessions tends to be regular, predictable, and slowly building, with lower perceptual brightness during peak mystical experiences compared to the pre-peak period. An expert survey of therapists and researchers yielded 24 musical recommendations for peak effects and 24 for the pre-peak period. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of 22 stimuli revealed that peak-period music features formulaic phrase structure, continuous forward motion, and less brightness. These findings provide a basis for standardizing music selection in psychedelic research and therapy.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 26, 2023
Edward Jacobs
61 citations
In psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP), the acute mystical experiences and lasting shifts in values, outlooks, and priorities that patients commonly report make the treatment's effects epistemically inaccessible at the time of deciding to undergo it. Drawing on L. A. Paul's concept of "Transformative Experience," the argument holds that prospective patients cannot meet the understanding requirement that is a core component of informed consent. While enhanced consent procedures may satisfy the function of avoiding unauthorized trespass against patients, the function of supporting values-aligned decision-making remains unattainable. The paper considers the ethical implications for preparing patients.
Frontiers in Psychology
August 19, 2021
Jessica Sophie Corneille, David Luke
61 citations
Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings (SSAs) are sudden experiences of oneness with ultimate reality, God, or the universe that have been little studied despite anecdotal reports of lasting positive change. A survey of 152 people who had their most powerful awakening found that Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings (SKAs) were significantly more physical but not significantly more negative than SSAs; both were overwhelmingly positive overall. The experiences resembled drug-induced altered states, especially those from classic psychedelics like DMT and psilocybin, though greater in magnitude. Personality traits of absorption and temporal lobe lability predicted the likelihood of having such awakenings.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 21, 2017
Shaun Gallagher
59 citations
The author defends a phenomenological account of the sense of ownership as part of a minimal sense of self against deflationary and eliminativist critiques. They argue that the phenomenological account is itself deflationary because it treats the sense of ownership as implicit or intrinsic to experience and bodily action. Against eliminativism, the author cites empirical evidence supporting pre-reflective self-awareness, which underlies the sense of ownership. Finally, they respond to the claim that phenomenology lacks a positive account by showing how the sense of ownership functions within an enactivist, action-oriented view of embodied cognition.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 24, 2022
Alice Chirico, Marta Pizzolante, Alexandra Kitson et al.
58 citations
Transformative experience (TE) is studied across many disciplines, from philosophy to neurobiology and in domains from spirituality to education, yet no consistent definition exists. This work reviews models and theories of TE from different fields, extracts their main components, and examines redundancies and particularities across domains. It then proposes an integrated theoretical framework and a preliminary interdisciplinary operational definition of TE. This synthesis aims to organize current research and theories, offering a foundation for operationalizing TE and encouraging new interdisciplinary studies.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 31, 2023
Peter Sjöstedt-hughes
54 citations
Psychedelic-induced metaphysical experiences should be integrated and evaluated using metaphysics, not just mysticism. In psychedelic-assisted therapy, patients may benefit from an optional, additional schema and discussion of metaphysical options during the integrative phase. The proposed "Metaphysics Matrix" and a new Metaphysics Matrix Questionnaire (MMQ) can serve as tools for quantitative measurement of psychedelic experience in trials. Metaphysics is based on argument rather than pure revelation, unlike mysticism. This approach bridges reason-based philosophy and practical therapy, potentially fusing philosophy with practical science.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2014
Martin Dresler, Leandra Eibl, Christian F. J. Fischer et al.
52 citations
In frequent lucid dreamers, the experience of volition—the sense of control over one's actions—is similar during lucid dreaming and wakefulness, and both are significantly higher than during non-lucid dreaming. However, specific aspects differ: planning ability is strongest while awake, intention enactment is strongest during lucid dreaming, and self-determination is equally strong during wakefulness and lucid dreaming. These findings confirm that different higher-order aspects of consciousness, such as volition, are expressed differently across conscious states.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 25, 2022
David S. Mathai, Victoria Mora, Albert Garcia‐romeu
51 citations
Ketamine, a dissociative drug used as an anesthetic since the 1970s, also shows promise for psychiatric applications, especially when combined with psychological interventions. A review of historical and modern approaches discusses the clinical relevance of ketamine's acute psychoactive effects and proposes a unique model for using esketamine with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The authors suggest considerations for advancing medication-assisted psychotherapy as a field.