Frontiers in Psychology
December 2, 2021
Rami Gabriel
8 citations
Spiritual emotions generated through imaginative culture—myth, ritual, and art—help fix metaphysical beliefs by making certain information feel salient and true. Evolved affective systems are domesticated through social practices, adapting people to cooperative group life. Conditioning, symbols, and language bond groups via shared imaginative formats. Art, as a form of self-knowledge, provides motivated understanding of oneself in the world. In sacred states produced by arts and religious acts, affect infuses experience with a noetically distinct sense of meaning, making humans attentive to subtle signs and broad truths. This salience, saturated with emotion and alterity, becomes the basis for belief fixation. The theory draws on mimetic arts and arts of immanence to explain how sensible affective knowledge is mediated through affective systems, direct perception, and imagination.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 6, 2025
William Roseby, Hannes Kettner, Leor Roseman et al.
6 citations
Psychedelics like psilocybin strongly increase the sense that life has meaning, based on three different studies: a clinical trial for depression, a healthy volunteer study, and naturalistic retreats. The 'presence of meaning' rose substantially after a psychedelic experience, while the 'search for meaning' dropped only slightly. These meaning enhancements were moderately linked to improvements in mental health, such as greater wellbeing and reduced depression. Mystical, ego dissolution, and emotional breakthrough experiences were associated with increased meaning, though the strength varied by context. The evidence converges to show a robust, lasting positive effect of psychedelics on meaning in life, with context influencing outcomes.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 10, 2024
Olivier Sandilands, Daniel M. Ingram
6 citations
Meditation, psychedelics, and similar practices that alter conscious experience are increasingly used in clinical and non-clinical settings, yet the full range of associated phenomena remains poorly described and understood. There is an ethical mandate to research this domain more extensively, starting with comprehensive documentation. A review of 50 recent clinical or scientific publications, synthesizing reports from over 30,000 individual subjects, produced a large inventory of experiences, effects, after-effects, and impacts across a broad variety of psychoactive compounds, meditative practices, and other modalities. The authors critically discuss existing terminology and argue that specialized vocabularies are needed to ground this nascent research field, proposing the notion of 'emergence' and 'emergent phenomenology' as foundational concepts.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2023
6 citations
A general commentary on a previously published article, offering critical perspective or additional context on the topic of consciousness research. The commentary engages with the original work's arguments, highlighting areas of agreement or disagreement and suggesting refinements or future directions for the field.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 15, 2025
Jake F Hooper, Emily L Gyongyosi, Kent E Hutchison et al.
5 citations
Aesthetic qualities of psychedelic experiences are linked to better psychological outcomes, including greater emotional breakthroughs, psychological insight, behavioral change, and mystical experiences, while also being associated with less fear and paranoia. In a survey of 96 people who used classic psychedelics in the past year, aesthetic experience predicted improvements in depression, anxiety, and quality of life independently of age, gender, or mystical experience. The findings suggest that the aesthetic environment in psychedelic-assisted therapy may actively contribute to therapeutic benefits rather than being merely perceptual enhancements.
Frontiers in Psychology
December 6, 2024
Sean Noah, Earth Erowid, Fire Erowid et al.
5 citations
Psychedelic compounds like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, and DMT can dramatically alter visual perception, but whether these visual effects consistently differ between substances is unclear. Using the large Erowid experience report dataset, researchers analyzed narrative self-reports for 103 psychoactive substances, including 30 psychedelics and 73 comparison substances. They used an AI embedding model to classify sentences describing visual effects. The proportion of visual-effect sentences varied significantly and consistently across substances, even among psychedelics. Further analysis of visual effect categories—such as movement, color, and pattern—also showed reliable variation. The findings indicate that different psychedelic substances have distinct propensities to affect vision and produce qualitatively different visual experiences.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 9, 2024
Hang Sun, Eunyoung Kim
5 citations
Archetype symbols in shamanic rituals significantly influence participants' conscious state, leading to a conscious dissolution of the self. A survey of 75 participants found that these symbols have different effects across stages of consciousness change, with the strongest impact during the "Visionary Restructuralization" stage. Patterns, masks, totems, and music brought consciousness to a peak and caused significant changes. The metaphoric function of archetype symbols connects individuals to the collective unconscious through visual and symbolic imagery, prompting emotional resonances that transcend personal experience and alter consciousness.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 16, 2023
Oliver Davis
4 citations
The French poet, writer, and artist Henri Michaux produced an extensive body of work—five books, dozens of drawings, and a film—documenting his experiences with mescaline, psilocybin, LSD, and cannabis over roughly a decade from the mid-1950s. His aesthetic reconstruction of psychedelics' effects on his creative brain can be read as a program for the emerging field of psychedelic humanities. Michaux's work addresses three core concerns: psychedelics' role in enhancing creativity, the politics of psychedelics, and the meaning of psychedelic mysticism. Though less known than Huxley's writings, Michaux's exploration is more extensive, complex, and demanding, and deserves wider recognition.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 1, 2023
Zoe Dubus, Elise Grandgeorge, Vincent Verroust
3 citations
From the 1920s to the 1960s, French physicians administered mescaline, LSD, and psilocybin in highly controlled, anxious sessions often described by patients as torture, with only rare cases of recovery. The Sainte-Anne school dominated this research, framing hallucinogens as psychodysleptics (mind disruptors) rather than psychedelics, and using them as diagnostic tools within a biological, shock-oriented conception of therapy. Because researchers rarely determined optimal doses or attended to the administration context and patient relationship, clear therapeutic benefits were not demonstrated. These early negative representations continue to influence French health professionals' reluctance toward the current psychedelic renaissance.
Frontiers in Psychology
April 12, 2022
Celia Ceballos-Munuera, Cristina Senín‐calderón, Sandra Fernández-león et al.
3 citations
Ideas of reference (IR) are common in psychotic disorders, and their frequency and associated preoccupation relate to the psychotic dimension. Aberrant salience (AS) is considered an early indicator of psychosis. This study tested whether AS and disorganized symptoms mediate the link between IR and the psychotic dimension. In 330 participants (116 university students, 214 patients; 62.4% women, ages 18–79), a partial mediation model showed that AS and the disorganized dimension jointly mediated the relationship between IR and the psychotic dimension, while preoccupation about IR no longer played a role. Age significantly influenced this relationship. The model explained 54.16% of the variance in the psychotic dimension. Findings suggest that unusual thought content may predict proneness to psychosis, with implications for early detection and prevention.
Frontiers in Psychology
April 11, 2022
Karleth Costa Spindola-Rodrigues, Renandro de Carvalho Reis, Caio Macedo de Carvalho et al.
3 citations
Mediums who practice trance mediumship in Brazil show generally healthy cognitive function. In a sample of 19 mediums split into a more experienced group (11 subjects, over 10 years of practice) and a less experienced group (8 subjects, 1–5 years), most scored at or above the median on tests of memory, attention, and executive function compared to Brazilian norms. On the five-digit test, those who first recognized trance before age 21 performed better on the choice stage. No participant met criteria for major depression, but 21% reported common mental disorders, more prevalent in the less experienced group. Executive dysfunction may be a tendency in less experienced mediums.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 15, 2025
Judith Hooper, Jarrod M. Ellingson, Kent E. Hutchison
2 citations
Aesthetic experiences under psychedelics are vivid and meaningful but poorly measured. A new questionnaire, the Psychedelic Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (PAEQ), was refined and validated in 365 past-year psilocybin users who completed an online survey. Factor analysis revealed four dimensions: sensory, affective, semantic, and flow. The scale showed high internal consistency (α = 0.90) and strong correlations with existing measures of mystical experience, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight. PAEQ scores modestly predicted improvements in sleep, pain, substance use, anxiety, depression, and quality of life after psychedelic use. The PAEQ offers a psychometrically sound tool for capturing aesthetic engagement during psychedelic experiences.
Frontiers in Psychology
April 29, 2024
Thurston C. Lacalli
2 citations
Consciousness and individual agency can be decoupled in two hypothetical ways: reflex pathways that incorporate conscious sensations as an intrinsic component (InCs), and consciously conditioned reflexes dependent on synaptic plasticity but not memory (CCRs). Whether these exist is unclear, and InCs are limited to theories where consciousness depends on EM field effects. Consciousness with agency, as humans experience it, requires deliberate choice of alternative actions (DCs) that depend on explicit memory systems. CCRs provide a heuristic model for how conscious inputs could refine routine behaviors while evolution optimizes qualia without agency.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 9, 2023
Neşe Devenot, George Erving
2 citations
Consciousness may be understood as a form of poetry, with the brain's default mode network acting as a kind of 'editor' that selects and organizes experience into coherent narratives. The article argues that both poetic creation and conscious experience involve a dynamic interplay between spontaneous, associative thought and structured, editorial refinement. This perspective bridges neuroscience and poetics, suggesting that the default mode network's role in self-referential thought and narrative construction is analogous to the editorial process in poetry. The authors propose that viewing consciousness through a poetic lens can offer new insights into its nature and function, potentially informing both scientific and artistic understandings of subjective experience.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 29, 2020
Jared R. Lindahl, D. James Cooper, Nathan E. Fisher et al.
2 citations
Buddhist meditation practitioners and teachers report a wider range of difficult or distressing experiences than previously discussed, some of which are considered expected on the contemplative path. Distinguishing these from psychopathology requires expanding assessment frameworks beyond normative fit with religious experience or mental illness to include the need for intervention, whether religious or clinical. Decision-making about intervention often depends on contextual factors, aligning with person-centered mental health care that considers interpersonal and cultural dynamics.
Frontiers in Psychology
May 19, 2016
Katarina L. Shebloski, James M. Broadway
2 citations
A commentary on a study about psilocybin and time perception argues that the original work's conclusions may be overstated. The commentary suggests that the reported effects of psilocybin on time perception could be influenced by other factors, such as changes in attention or working memory, rather than a direct alteration of an internal clock. It calls for more rigorous controls in future research to isolate the specific cognitive mechanisms affected by psychedelics.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 11, 2026
Filippo Dellanoce
1 citation
A novel therapeutic approach called 'amplified psychoanalysis' integrates MDMA-assisted therapy with traditional psychoanalytic treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A single-case clinical narrative of a patient named Ygg illustrates how MDMA-induced altered states of consciousness may facilitate access to unconscious material and help overcome therapeutic impasses. The patient experienced more direct access to and processing of previously avoided memories and affects. The combination may be particularly promising for OCD, where traditional approaches often face limitations. Enhanced emotional processing, a strengthened therapeutic alliance, and improved access to traumatic memories are identified as putative processes of change. The approach requires systematic investigation with larger samples and formal outcome measures.
Frontiers in Psychology
February 11, 2026
1 citation
Event-related beta oscillations, which are brain rhythms time-locked to tasks, are an underused but promising biomarker for evaluating treatments like brain stimulation and neurofeedback. Evidence from a rat model of alcohol addiction shows that both psilocybin and targeted electrical stimulation shift dominant beta activity from higher to lower sub-bands during an auditory oddball task, suggesting sub-band-specific analyses may indicate treatment efficacy. Despite this potential, systematic studies of beta sub-bands for diagnosing and treating neurological and psychiatric disorders remain scarce. The author proposes that event-related beta oscillations could help assess neuromodulatory interventions in both preclinical and clinical settings.
Frontiers in Psychology
November 25, 2025
Lars‐gunnar Lundh, Lo Foster
1 citation
People have a need to feel embodied—to experience having a body as both an object that can be perceived and evaluated and as a subjective, felt body. This felt embodiment is crucial for developing self-identity, interpersonal relations, wellbeing, and flourishing. The paper argues that experiences of feeling embodied serve as important motives: embodiment motivation drives people to feel their body in its vitality, capacities, expressiveness, as part of wholesome environments, and in pleasurable contact with others, while disembodiment motivation drives people to avoid or reduce bodily self-experiences due to pain or discomfort. The paper outlines a new research area on embodiment motivation.
Frontiers in Psychology
October 24, 2025
Elizaveta Solomonova, Jared R. Lindahl, Ian Gold et al.
1 citation
Delusion-like ideation (DLI) occurs in psychopathology and among the general population, and meditation can trigger such experiences. Based on interviews with over 100 Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts, this mixed-methods study establishes a typology of eight types of DLI, reports their relative frequencies, and identifies impacts and treatment outcomes. Four case studies illustrate risk factors, trajectories, outcomes, and appraisals. Responses to DLI depend on type, duration, severity, impact, and appraisals by meditators, teachers, and psychiatrists. Some DLI phenomenology reflects Buddhist meditation cultures; although normalized in certain contexts, meditation experts consider DLI a potential "red flag" requiring monitoring or intervention. Explanatory models include environmental conditions of retreats, attention and sensory attenuation, and DLI as a cultural idiom of distress.
Frontiers in Psychology
October 17, 2025
Michail Elpidoforou, Antonios Boultadakis, John Parissis et al.
1 citation
Dance-based interventions fall into three distinct categories with different goals, facilitators, and target populations. Dance therapy (DT), dance movement psychotherapy (DMP), or dance movement therapy (DMT) is a psychotherapeutic modality delivered by registered dance-movement therapists to address mental health needs. Adapted dance (AD) or inclusive dance (ID) is led by certified dance educators trained in special education, focusing on artistic expression, recreation, and social inclusion for individuals with disabilities. Therapeutic dance (TD) or dance as therapy (DaT) is facilitated by registered healthcare practitioners with dance training to improve or relieve disease symptoms or side effects of medical care in clinical populations. Clear terminology is essential for designing interventions, defining outcomes, and establishing professional standards.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 12, 2024
Terje Sparby, Dirk Cysarz, David Hornemann V. Laer et al.
1 citation
Attentional control has two basic aspects: directing attention to different objects is experienced as easy and a sign of freedom, while sustaining attention on a chosen object is difficult because mind-wandering is inevitable. This raises the question of whether we are fundamentally unfree. An introspective study with six people performing various attention tasks over a month examined whether it is possible to experience the source of attention—the subject enacting freedom through attention. Common and contrasting experiences are reported, forming a basis for discussing the method of introspection and how to handle conflicting reports.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 7, 2026
Sonu Sharma, Pradeep Kumar, Vishva Chaudhary et al.
This conceptual paper compares Indian philosophical traditions—Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, and the teachings of J. Krishnamurti—with contemporary psychology, which typically aims to build a cohesive self for wellbeing. These traditions critique the idea of a fixed self-identity. The paper relates these comparisons to contemplative neuroscience, focusing on the default mode network, self-referential processing, and meditation-related changes in self-experience. It proposes a spectrum model: self-referential processing as an ordinary mode, meta-awareness as a trainable capacity, and non-self experience as a transformed outcome. The framework suggests wellbeing may involve flexible regulation of self-identification rather than simple self-enhancement. Implications for research, clinical practice, and cultural interpretation are discussed.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 3, 2026
Fredric Schiffer
Space and time are irreducible dimensions of nature, and life and experience are proposed as similarly irreducible dimensions, together called lifeexperience. From this dimensional ground emerges the Force of Experience, a candidate fifth fundamental force whose causal reality is evidenced by human civilization. Physics fails to explain consciousness and life by treating them as derivable from lower-level processes rather than as foundational dimensions.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 30, 2026
Yiwen Zhang
Jung's theory of individuation reaches a structural limit that Vijnanvada (Yogacara) Buddhist philosophy can identify and continue. Prior comparative scholarship that mapped Jungian archetypes onto Buddhist categories conceals a more fundamental asymmetry between the two traditions. Both traditions posit a subliminal mind (collective unconscious or alaya-vijnana) in response to the insufficiency of surface consciousness. Jung's integrative methodology misreads the structural self-grasping of manas as content available for integration. The Jungian Self archetype reproduces at a more sophisticated level the same atma-graha structure that manas enacts in lived experience. Vijnanvada's doctrine of 'turning consciousness into wisdom' articulates a transformation of cognitive mode that Jung's framework approaches but does not formulate. Individuation functions as precondition for the subtler work of transforming the structural orientation of cognition itself.