Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anaesthetic that, in sub-anaesthetic doses, can produce an altered state of consciousness characterised by dissociative symptoms, visual and auditory hallucinations, and perceptual distortions. Given the anaesthetic-like and psychedelic-like nature of this compound, it is expected to have different effects on brain dy...
Abstract Psychedelic therapy has the potential to become a revolutionary and transdiagnostic mental health treatment, yielding enduring benefits that are often attributed to the experiences that coincide with peak psychedelic effects. However, there may be an underrecognized temporal structure to this process that helps explain why psychedelic and related al...
Despite significant advances in symptom management for patients affected by serious illness, physicians lack effective legal treatments for individuals suffering from demoralization, death anxiety, and existential distress. Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy employs psilocybin-containing mushrooms or synthetic psilocybin grounded in indigenous traditions and ...
LSD, psilocybin and mescaline are widely used for recreational and ethnomedical purposes. All three substances are thought to induce prototypical psychedelic effects primarily via stimulation of the 5-HT2A receptor. However, there are differences in the substances' molecular structures and receptor activation profiles which may induce differential subjective...
Music and psychedelics have been intertwined throughout the existence of Homo sapiens, from the early shamanic rituals of the Americas and Africa to the modern use of psychedelic-assisted therapy for a variety of mental health conditions. Across such settings, music has been highly prized for its ability to guide the psychedelic experience. Here, we examine ...
BackgroundThe classical psychedelics psilocybin, peyote, ayahuasca/ N, N-dimethyltryptamine, and lysergic acid diethylamide can temporarily produce altered states of consciousness, characterized by changes in sensory perception, thought, mood, and the sense of self-reality and meaning. It is important to have reliable instruments for quantifying these altere...
Background: Depression is a major global health challenge, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have limited efficacy, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests that peak emotional experiences characterized by awe, transcendence, and meaning hold promise for rapi...
Serotonergic hallucinogens also referred to as psychedelics, are psychoactive substances that profoundly alter perception, mood, and cognitive processes. These substances, historically intertwined with religious and cultural rituals, offer profound effects that extend beyond mere hallucinations to profoundly altered states of consciousness. Notable compounds...
Cannabis and classic psychedelics are controlled substances with emerging evidence of efficacy in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric illnesses. Cannabis has largely not been regarded as having psychedelic effects in contemporary literature, despite many examples of historical use along with classic psychedelics to attain altered states of consciousnes...
BACKGROUND: Research with the Psychedelic Experience Questionnaire/Scale (PES) focuses on questions relating to mystical experience (Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ)). The psychometric potential of the non-MEQ items of the PES remains largely unexplored. AIMS: We investigated whether the PES also yields subscales besides the MEQ30 subscales. METHODS: ...
Serotonergic psychedelics induce altered states of consciousness and have shown potential for treating a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and addiction. Yet their modes of action are not fully understood. Here, we provide a novel, synergistic understanding of psychedelics arising from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of three h...
To provide insights into neurophenomenological richness after psilocybin intake, we investigated the link between dynamical brain patterns and the ensuing phenomenological pattern after psilocybin intake. Healthy participants received either psilocybin (n=22) or placebo (n=27) while in ultra-high field 7T MRI scanning. Changes in the phenomenological pattern...
BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psilocybin have reported large antidepressant effects in adults with major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Given psilocybin's psychedelic effects, all published studies have included psychological support. These effects depend on serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor activation, which ...
Flotation-Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) and mindfulness meditation (MM) are known to induce altered states of consciousness (ASC) and self-consciousness. In this study, we use a phenomenological and predictive processing (PP) framework to compare the interventions alongside the psychedelic experience. Ego-dissolution scores were greater th...
Flotation-Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) and mindfulness meditation (MM) are known to induce altered states of consciousness (ASC) and self-consciousness. In this study, we use a phenomenological and predictive processing (PP) framework to compare the interventions alongside the psychedelic experience. Ego-dissolution scores were greater th...
The Altered Xperience Project (AXP) is an ongoing research project that takes the form of an open citizen science initiative. Its main goal is to systematically collect and consolidate data on the subjective experiences induced by various consciousness-manipulating techniques (CMTs). These include both psychoactive substances as well as non-pharmacological m...
The Altered Xperience Project (AXP) is an ongoing research project that takes the form of an open citizen science initiative. Its main goal is to systematically collect and consolidate data on the subjective experiences induced by various consciousness-manipulating techniques (CMTs). These include both psychoactive substances as well as non-pharmacological m...
Mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and psilocybin are classic serotonergic psychedelics. A valid, direct comparison of the effects of these substances is lacking. The main goal of the present study was to investigate potential pharmacological, physiological and phenomenological differences at psychoactive-equivalent doses of mescaline, LSD, and psi...
Psychedelics offer a profound window into the functioning of the human brain and mind through their robust acute effects on perception, subjective experience, and brain activity patterns. In recent work using a receptor-informed network control theory framework, we demonstrated that the serotonergic psychedelics lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybi...
