Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
September 25, 2015
Philip Kamilar-Britt, G. Bedi
165 citations
MDMA (ecstasy) produces prosocial effects such as sociability and empathy, consistent with user reports. In rodents, MDMA increases passive prosocial behavior and social reward while reducing aggression, possibly through serotonin 1A receptor-mediated oxytocin release interacting with vasopressin receptor 1A. In humans, MDMA raises plasma oxytocin, fosters feelings of social affiliation, reduces recognition of negative facial expressions (cognitive empathy), blunts responses to social rejection, and enhances responses to others' positive emotions (emotional empathy) while increasing social approach. These neurobiologically complex prosocial effects likely motivate recreational ecstasy use.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
November 23, 2020
H. Gill, Barjot Gill, Nelson B Rodrigues et al.
92 citations
About 40% of people with major depressive disorder have cognitive impairments, and those with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) often show such deficits. Ketamine, a rapid-acting antidepressant, may help. A systematic review of five studies found that a single low-dose intravenous infusion (0.5 mg/kg) did not worsen cognitive function. Some studies reported improvements in working memory and visual learning after ketamine treatment, while gains in processing speed and verbal learning occurred only in anxious TRD patients. The evidence suggests ketamine may have pro-cognitive effects in TRD, but more research is needed.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
December 1, 2021
I. Kanaev
16 citations
Consciousness likely evolved as an adaptive trait, and its subjective reality cannot be separated from its physical neural correlates. Combining anthropology and neuroscience, this review refutes common fallacies that ignore the evolutionary origin of consciousness or that divorce neuroscience from behavioral science. It describes experience as an ongoing overlap between intrinsic neural dynamics and external stimulation, framed as stochastic dynamics of a control system. This supports a world-brain research program and a naturalistic science of consciousness, grounding qualitative feelings in quantitative description and affirming a realistic ontology where physical and subjective aspects are inseparable.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
August 1, 2024
K. Abellaneda-Pérez, Ruby M. Potash, Á. Pascual-Leone et al.
Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can help researchers investigate the neural mechanisms underlying meditation's beneficial effects on well-being and consciousness. Prior research has mainly targeted frontal and parietal cortices, suggesting NIBS might boost meditation's behavioral and neural effects. NIBS has also revealed distinct neural signatures in long-term meditators. However, methodological variations across studies make definitive interpretation of results challenging. Future work should focus on core substrates of meditation, including specific brain networks and oscillations, and causal mechanisms of advanced meditation. Overall, NIBS-meditation research holds promise for enhancing meditation-based interventions in both non-clinical and clinical populations.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
August 9, 2020
G. Northoff, V. Lamme
Various theories of the neural basis of consciousness propose diverse neural signs and mechanisms. This review asks whether that diversity is real or whether theories share basic ideas that could converge. It compares neural signs, measures, and mechanisms across theories, showing that different theories focus on distinct aspects of neural activity—stimulus-related, prestimulus, and resting state—and on distinct features of consciousness. The mechanisms may partly complement each other. The authors conclude that the different theories concern distinct aspects of neural activity and consciousness that may be integrated and nested within the brain's overall temporo-spatial dynamics.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
January 26, 2020
P. Frewen, M. Schroeter, G. Riva et al.
A review of neuroimaging research on self-referential processing (SRP) distinguishes between verbal and non-verbal forms, each occurring in controlled, top-down tasks (introspection and interoception) and in spontaneous, bottom-up states (mind wandering and body wandering during rest). The authors propose a conceptual and methodological framework for future SRP research, which they apply to understanding psychological and neurological disorders linked to abnormal SRP. The discussion draws on William James' writings on the consciousness of self.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
September 1, 2019
B. Hutchinson
A review of neuroscientific studies using inattentional blindness—where people fail to see an unexpected object because their attention is elsewhere—finds clear evidence that visual processing up to intermediate stages (such as visual features and orthographic processing) occurs even when people are unaware of a stimulus. The most common brain activity markers linked to awareness are the visual awareness negativity and post-stimulus alpha suppression, while key brain regions involved include the lateral occipital cortex, temporoparietal junction, and intraparietal sulcus. The authors address limitations of this literature and recommend how future inattentional blindness research can advance neuroscientific theories of consciousness.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
August 1, 2019
Sylvie Tordjman, Macarena-Paz Celume, L. Denis et al.
Self-consciousness disorders in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are linked to impairments in body self, which disrupt self-other differentiation, theory of mind, and empathy, leading to social communication difficulties. A proposed model suggests that altered or absent intermodal sensory integration—especially visual-kinesthetic-tactile integration—underlies these bodily self-consciousness disorders. This disruption causes problems distinguishing self from others, which in turn contributes to deficits in theory of mind and empathy and impairs social communication. The model offers new avenues for understanding and developing therapeutic strategies for these conditions.