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Current Biology

ISSN 0960-9822

7 papers in the library · 421 citations · publishing 2005-2025

Papers

Meditation alters perceptual rivalry in Tibetan Buddhist monks

Current Biology June 1, 2005 Olivia Carter, David E. Presti, C. Callistemon et al. 262 citations

Tibetan Buddhist monks with extensive meditative training can voluntarily alter the normal fluctuations in conscious awareness that occur during perceptual rivalry tasks such as binocular rivalry and motion-induced blindness. In binocular rivalry, a one-point meditation that focuses attention on a single object led to extreme increases in the duration of perceptual dominance, with some monks reporting complete perceptual stability for up to five minutes. In contrast, compassion meditation had no observable effect on rivalry rate. During motion-induced blindness, monks reported longer disappearance durations than meditation-naive individuals, and one highly experienced monk could sustain the disappearance of a visual target for over 12 minutes. These results suggest that intense attentional focus, rather than meditation per se, can modulate the neural mechanisms underlying conscious visual perception.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2005.05.043 Meditation Buddhism Scopus Consciousness +10

Hippocampal Sharp-Wave Ripples Influence Selective Activation of the Default Mode Network

Current Biology February 20, 2016 Raphael Kaplan, Mohit H. Adhikari, Rikkert Hindriks et al. 127 citations

Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples, brief high-frequency oscillations linked to memory consolidation, are followed by a dramatic increase in fMRI signal within the default mode network (DMN) of anesthetized monkeys. This effect was specific to ripples and did not occur after other hippocampal events or in other resting-state networks. The findings link circuit-level neural dynamics—ripples—to network-level fluctuations in the DMN, providing mechanistic support for the DMN's role in memory consolidation.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.017 Default mode network Biology Hippocampal formation Mode computer interface +3

Intravenous psilocybin attenuates mechanical hypersensitivity in a rat model of chronic pain

Current Biology December 1, 2023 Nicholas Kolbman, Tiecheng Liu, Peter Guzzo et al. 21 citations

A single intravenous dose of psilocybin reduces mechanical hypersensitivity for 28 days in a rat model of formalin-induced chronic pain, suggesting potential for treating chronic pain conditions. The study addresses a gap in research on psilocybin's effectiveness for chronic pain, as prior work focused on psychiatric disorders and substance abuse. No systematic investigation had previously examined psilocybin's impact on chronic pain indices.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.016 Psychedelics Psilocybin therapy Pain management Medical research +1

Domestication through clandestine cultivation constrained genetic diversity in magic mushrooms relative to naturalized populations

Current Biology December 1, 2023 Alistair R. Mctaggart, Stephen Mclaughlin, Jason C. Slot et al. 6 citations

Domestication of the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis for psilocybin production has led to inbreeding and selfing in commercial cultivars, reducing genetic diversity and heterozygosity. In contrast, a naturalized Australian population, likely introduced from an unknown origin, has recovered from a bottleneck and maintains high genetic diversity. Genome comparisons of 38 Australian isolates and 86 commercial cultivars revealed that cultivars have low effective population sizes, high linkage disequilibrium, and low allelic diversity in mating-compatibility genes, while the Australian population shows higher nucleotide and allelic diversity. The psilocybin gene cluster is nearly identical across most cultivars, but unique alleles in Australia and some cultivars may affect psilocybin biosynthesis.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.10.059 Psilocybin Domestication Selfing Genetic diversity +6

Psilocybin induces sex- and context-specific recruitment of the stress axis

Current Biology December 9, 2025 Sarah G. Cook, Stephanie J. Lee, Emma Ference et al. 3 citations

Psilocybin activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by stimulating corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (CRHPVN). This activation is more pronounced in female mice and depends on serotonergic 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors. The 5-HT2A receptor effects involve direct post-synaptic depolarization of CRHPVN neurons and increased presynaptic glutamate release. Psilocybin also alters how CRHPVN neurons respond to environmental changes, leading to a surprising decrease in activity that contrasts with typical stress responses. This context-specific modulation may be a key mechanism for recalibrating maladaptive stress reactivity, supporting the influence of setting on the psychedelic experience.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.11.031 Full text Serotonergic Psilocybin In vivo Depolarization +10

Psychedelic fungi

Current Biology June 1, 2025 Jason Slot, Dirk Hoffmeister 2 citations

Various fungi across multiple phyla produce psychoactive compounds like psilocybin, ibotenic acid, muscimol, and lysergic acid amides, which affect human neurotransmitter receptors to cause profound psychological effects. These substances appear in mushroom-forming genera such as Psilocybe and Amanita, as well as ergot-producing Claviceps and insect-pathogenic Massospora. Ecologically, psychedelics may deter predators or aid spore dispersal. Biosynthetic enzymes are encoded in metabolic gene clusters that can spread via horizontal gene transfer, leading to a patchy distribution among species. The renewed study of these compounds presents both opportunities and challenges for science and society.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.02.026 Evolutionary biology