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July 10, 2026
José Alexandre Salerno, Elizabeth R. Dominguez, Karina Karmirian et al.
A brief 24-hour exposure to the serotonergic psychedelic DMT increases proliferation of human neural stem cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. The effect was concentration-dependent, with half-maximal effect at 59.7 nM. DMT treatment also altered trophic gene expression, decreasing neurotrophin-3 while increasing nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) transcripts and intracellular BDNF protein. After DMT was removed, the primed stem cells formed larger neurospheres, with progenitor and early neuronal marker composition matching controls by day 10. These findings demonstrate that brief DMT exposure engages proliferative and neurotrophin-associated responses in human neural stem cells at concentrations consistent with those reported for DMT-induced plasticity in other systems.
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July 7, 2026
Tao Zhang (43681)
This philosophical paper introduces the Experience Complexity Index (ECI) and an experiential decline thesis to address gaps between philosophy of mind, evolutionary biology, and philosophy of technology. The framework proposes that conscious experience evolves through a sequence of experiential entropy increase, peak stagnation, and system iteration, drawing an analogy between experiential entropy and thermodynamic entropy. It extends concepts like finitude awareness beyond humans, offers a formal-analogical model for comparing experiential complexity across species, and applies the framework to thought experiments about Earth's mass extinctions, consciousness uploading, and extraterrestrial life. The model is presented as a theoretical tool for interdisciplinary reflection, not a directly testable instrument.
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July 7, 2026
Tao Zhang (43681)
A philosophical paper introduces the Experience Complexity Index (ECI) and an experiential decline thesis, arguing that conscious experience evolves through a sequence of increasing experiential entropy, peak stagnation, and system iteration. The framework is a formal-analogical thought-experimental model, not a quantitative instrument. It addresses the hard problem of consciousness, extends Heideggerian finitude beyond humans, and treats experience as the central existential dimension of conscious beings. The ECI has a four-dimensional structure, a 0–13 grading spectrum with evolutionary zones, and is applied to thought experiments on Earth's mass extinctions, consciousness uploading, and extraterrestrial life. The paper offers a unified interdisciplinary language for reflecting on life evolution and conscious experience.
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June 23, 2026
Elena Bray, Grant C. Glatfelter, Alexander D. Maitland et al.
A new chemical synthesis of 4-bromo-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (4-Br-DMT) was developed, enabling the creation of novel tryptamine molecules with modifications at the C4 position via palladium cross-coupling reactions. This approach facilitates rapid development of a library of compounds for studying structure-activity relationships with serotonergic targets. Compared to psilocin and DMT, 4-Br-DMT exhibits a serotonergic profile but lacks psychedelic-like effects in mice, though it has a reduced safety profile.
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May 23, 2026
Vlad Tverdohleb
The universe is a single conscious field, and individual minds are localized apertures of this field, described as Informational Attractors. Each Attractor carries a perfect informational template (the 5D Blueprint) that guides physical embodiment. The progressive alignment of the biological body with this template, mediated by quantum coherent processes in microtubules, biophoton fields, and cellular water, is called the Phase-Locked Loop. This mechanism is proposed to underlie spontaneous remission, non-local healing, and the esoteric goal of a transfigured 'light body.' The model synthesizes findings from various researchers and maps them onto ancient esoteric traditions, concluding with testable predictions and a call for an expanded scientific paradigm.
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April 25, 2026
Morten Magnusson
Cosmology, consciousness, affect, ethics, and AI alignment are often treated as separate problems, but this paper argues they share a single thermodynamic basis: local entropy minimization through coherent information flow, formalized as the cognition module of Energy-Flow Cosmology (EFC-C). From this, it derives an agent-as-node-in-flow ontology (Homo Fluxus) and a mechanism called systemic empathy, where field-coupled agents detect entropy changes beyond their own boundaries. A latent variable, coherence potential Φ_coh, is inferred from three proxies: integrated information rate, cross-frequency phase coherence, and interoceptive-allostatic integration. The framework predicts that current AI alignment failures result from applying bounded local optimization to unbounded coupled fields, and proposes field-empathy as a distinct architectural constraint.
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March 11, 2026
Jenna Houff, Andrew Williams, Obie Allen et al.
A single dose of psilocybin reduced preference for larger rewards and increased the time taken to choose them in rats, effects that were not tied to delay length and thus not indicative of altered impulsivity. Forty-eight hours after administration, psilocybin also increased the density of activated parvalbumin inhibitory interneurons surrounded by perineuronal nets in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The findings suggest psilocybin decreases appetitive motivation by activating these specific inhibitory neurons.
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January 28, 2026
Mark Lemon
Conscious experience can be understood as a process mediated by an aperture—a bandwidth of awareness—that operates over an invariant geometric structure. The model proposes a twelve-fold toroidal thoughtform that can be partitioned into focal lenses, each describable as an archetypal attractor, phase sector, symmetry class, or developmental band. A central control parameter, aperture, regulates the balance between differentiation and integration, producing distinct experiential octaves. Consciousness units aggregate into metastable configurations depending on aperture width, forming gestalts whose scale matches the active bandwidth. Subjective experience occurs within these constraints rather than being generated by content alone. The framework is interdisciplinary and designed for future formalization and empirical operationalization.
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January 23, 2026
David Eckert, Siegfried Kasper
Treatment-resistant depression is a major clinical challenge, and guidelines recommend different pharmacological augmentations. A systematic review of head-to-head studies comparing lithium, quetiapine, and esketamine found only four trials: three comparing lithium and quetiapine, and one comparing esketamine and quetiapine. All three agents are effective, with a descriptive superiority of esketamine over quetiapine and of quetiapine over lithium. The results argue for re-evaluating treatment algorithms, but because the drugs differ in side effects, contraindications, and pharmacological profiles, embedding them in a comprehensive clinical context is important.
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January 1, 2026
Kristian Larsen
LSD and psilocybin produce distinct changes in cerebral blood flow and global functional connectivity across the human brain. Peak drug effects were observed in both measures, and within-subject associations between blood flow and connectivity were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation. The findings characterize how these hallucinogens alter brain activity at the population level in healthy participants.
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January 1, 2026
Jesse Dallery, Jennifer L. Miller, Jeff Boissoneault et al.
No Summary
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January 1, 2026
Jesse Dallery, Jennifer L. Miller, Jeff Boissoneault et al.
No Summary
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January 1, 2026
Kristian Larsen
Psilocybin reduces whole-brain cerebral blood flow and constricts the internal carotid artery in a dose-dependent manner. In 28 healthy participants given 0.2–0.3 mg/kg psilocybin, arterial spin labelling MRI showed widespread cortical blood flow decreases at peak plasma psilocin levels. Higher plasma psilocin concentrations correlated with lower cerebral blood flow and smaller carotid artery diameter, indicating that the drug's vascular effects are tied to its active metabolite.
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January 1, 2026
Alexander J. Bradshaw, Cathy Sharp, B. van der Merwe et al.
The closest wild relative of the widely cultivated psychedelic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis has been discovered in sub-Saharan Africa and named Psilocybe ochraceocentrata. DNA analysis of type specimens and molecular clock dating show the two species last shared a common ancestor about 1.5 million years ago (95% HPD: 710,000–2.55 million years ago), long before cattle domestication. Both species grow on herbivore dung, indicating that coprophagy likely preadapted P. cubensis to its current specialization on domesticated cattle dung. Ecological niche modeling suggests the ancestor of P. cubensis was present across Africa, Asia, and the Americas over the last 3 million years, challenging the earlier hypothesis that it was introduced to the Americas with cattle around 1500 CE.
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January 1, 2026
Kristian Larsen
LSD occupies the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and alters global functional connectivity in healthy human participants. The figure shows occupancy and connectivity effects for both LSD and psilocybin. Acquisition, preprocessing, and statistical modeling procedures were pre-registered and detailed in a study protocol.
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January 1, 2026
Daniel Pustay, Vishal Patel, Krista Ulisse et al.
A systematic review of 42 studies examined factors that might predict which adults with treatment-resistant depression respond to electroconvulsive therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or ketamine-based treatments. Predictive factors were grouped into clinical (symptom profile, illness duration), biological (inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and CRP, and BDNF), and imaging (cingulate cortex activity and connectivity). Some inflammation markers and fronto-limbic network findings appeared across treatments, but results were inconsistent. The review found weak evidence for a few predictors, but no consistent or clinically useful factors emerged for any modality or for comparing effectiveness between treatments. Larger, comparative studies are needed.
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January 1, 2026
Jesse Dallery, Jennifer L. Miller, Jeff Boissoneault et al.
A single 25 mg dose of psilocybin, combined with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, was tested in five adults with binge-eating disorder. The treatment was well tolerated with no serious adverse events. All participants reported reduced binge eating frequency that lasted through 14 weeks. Improvements also occurred in depression, anxiety, and psychological inflexibility. Three participants lost weight and reduced waist circumference. Brain scans showed increased activity in regions linked to cognitive control and self-awareness when viewing processed versus unprocessed food cues. Because the study was small and open-label, causality cannot be determined, but the results support larger controlled trials.
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November 26, 2025
A nonhallucinogenic dual 5-HT2A/5-HT2C agonist could offer novel treatment potential for CNS disorders. Screening of in-house compounds revealed centhaquin, an FDA-approved hypovolemic shock drug, as a selective 5-HT2C agonist (EC50: 35 nM). Synthesis of 22 aza-aryl analogs identified two dual agonists, 3ci and 3dh. Compound 3ci was rapidly absorbed in plasma and brain (Tmax = 0.08 h; Cmax = 936.4 ng/mL plasma, 2446.8 ng/g brain). Both compounds triggered a head-twitch response but were less potent than the hallucinogenic control, suggesting reduced hallucinogenic liability. These results highlight 3ci as a promising lead for developing 5-HT2A/2C dual agonists.
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November 10, 2025
Marina D. Luccioni (22593281), Jules T. Wyman (22593284), Edgard O. Espinoza (14827902) et al.
The Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius) is the only animal known to secrete the psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT as a chemical defense, but its source was unknown. Analyzing toxin gland secretions and diet profiles from wild I. alvarius and sympatric anurans in Tucson, Arizona, all I. alvarius secreted high concentrations of 5-MeO-DMT, while other sympatric toads did not. The diet of I. alvarius was similar to that of other anurans, indicating no dietary specialization; slight differences appeared between toads in native versus urban habitats. These findings suggest diet is not directly linked to 5-MeO-DMT production, supporting hypotheses that the toad synthesizes it endogenously or via a microbial symbiont.
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October 29, 2025
A systematic review and meta-analysis compared the safety of ketamine and esketamine for major depressive disorder. Both drugs caused more adverse events than placebo, with number needed to harm values of 2 for any adverse event and 12 for dropouts due to adverse events. Esketamine showed a similar pattern but with higher number needed to harm values, suggesting a tolerability advantage. Common side effects included dizziness, dissociation, nausea, vertigo, and blurred vision, which were dose-dependent. Serious adverse events were not significantly increased for either drug. Transient psychiatric effects, blood pressure increases, and sedation occurred after dosing. No significant abnormalities were found in cognition, lab results, bladder symptoms, nasal exams, or addiction measures.
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October 13, 2025
Francisco González Espejito (22421436), Laura Esteban Rodríguez (16363059), Eduardo J. Pedrero Pérez (22421439) et al.
No Summary
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October 13, 2025
Ibogaine, a compound from the Tabernanthe iboga plant, produces distinctive dream-like subjective effects that existing questionnaires cannot capture. To address this, the Ibogaine Experience Scale (IES) was developed and tested with 499 participants in two clinical settings. The final 70-item scale identifies seven factors, including narrative visions, visual changes, discomfort, cosmic archetypes, introspection, somatosensory sensitivity, and dissociation, explaining 53.9% of the variance. The scale shows excellent statistical fit and high internal consistency. It provides a reliable tool for quantifying ibogaine's unique subjective effects in research and clinical assessment, though further validation in diverse groups is needed.
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October 13, 2025
Francisco González Espejito (22421436), Laura Esteban Rodríguez (16363059), Eduardo J. Pedrero Pérez (22421439) et al.
Ibogaine, a compound from the root bark of Tabernanthe iboga used in traditional Bwiti rituals, shows promise for treating opioid dependence and neurological conditions, but existing tools do not capture its distinctive dream-like effects. To address this, the Ibogaine Experience Scale (IES) was developed from a prior qualitative study and refined using data from 499 participants across two clinical settings. The final scale has seven factors—including narrative visions, visual changes, discomfort, cosmic visions, introspection, somatosensory sensitivity, and dissociation—explaining 53.9% of variance with excellent fit and high internal consistency. The IES provides a reliable instrument for quantifying ibogaine's subjective effects, supporting research and clinical assessment.
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October 13, 2025
Francisco González Espejito (22421436), Laura Esteban Rodríguez (16363059), Eduardo J. Pedrero Pérez (22421439) et al.
Ibogaine, a compound from the iboga plant used in traditional Bwiti rituals and studied for treating opioid dependence, produces distinctive dream-like subjective effects that existing questionnaires do not capture. To measure these effects, a 70-item Ibogaine Experience Scale (IES) was developed based on a prior qualitative study. After testing an initial 144-item version on 499 participants in two clinical settings, the final scale has seven factors—including narrative visions, visual changes, discomfort, cosmic visions, introspection, somatosensory sensitivity, and dissociation—explaining 53.9% of the variance. The scale shows excellent statistical fit and high internal consistency, offering a reliable tool for research and clinical assessment of ibogaine's unique effects.
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October 13, 2025
No Summary