We are now witnessing a radical revival in clinical research on the use of psychedelics (e.g. LSD and psilocybin), where ‘mystical’ experiences are at the centre. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 psychedelic drug users, we document how they draw on archetypical mystical narratives, comprising three key dimensions: (1) the transcendence of time and spac...
Robin Carhart-Harris moved to Imperial College London in 2008 after obtaining a PhD in Psychopharmacology from the University of Bristol and an MA in Psychoanalysis from Brunel University. At Imperial, he has designed and/or carried out brain imaging studies involving LSD, psilocybin, MDMA and DMT, plus a clinical trial of psilocybin for treatment-resistant ...
Credit: Dassima Kathleen Murphy Nothing in Richard Alpert’s early life could have predicted that he would come to embody the spirit of the psychedelic 1960s. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of three sons, to George and Gertrude (Levin) Alpert. His father, a prominent lawyer in Boston, was a founder of Brandeis University and went on to bec...
Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ProfessionalFull AccessJohns Hopkins Opens Research Center on PsychedelicsNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:28 Oct 2019https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2019.10a16AbstractA total of $17 million in private donations to the Hopkins center is expected to provide ...
During the 1950s and 1960s, there was a tremendous surge in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs. When discussing this period of research, the discovery of the psychoactive properties of LSD in 1943 is often presented as the main, and sometimes only, driving force of the boom in research. This "Great Person," or "Great Chemical," historiographical ...
Serotonin is a key neuromodulator known to be involved in brain development, perception, cognition, and mood. However, unlike as with dopamine for example, a compelling unified theory of brain serotonin function has not yet been established. This is likely due to the exceptional complexity of the serotonin system, with its 14+ receptors, over twice the numbe...
Psilocybin, a psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, is thought to have therapeutic potential in psychiatric disorders but its mechanism of action within the brain is unclear. In a study, researchers gave two doses of psilocybin to 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression, and studied blood flow within the brain using functional magnetic resonance...
Presented at a conference titled “Psychedelic Science 2013,” highlighting the resumption of investigations with psychedelic substances (i.e., psilocybin, DMT, LSD, MMDA, etc.) in the United States and Europe after a dormant period of more than two decades, the author presents insights and perspectives gleaned from his 25 years of clinical research experience...
This study is an examination of the positive and persisting psychological and behavioral aftereffects in eight individuals who reported consumption of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Mushrooms containing psilocybin have been used for healing and spiritual purposes for thousands of years, and the therapeutic applications of psilocybin were scientifically exa...
Earlier this year I joined some friends at a performance by the New York Philharmonic of Verdi’s Requiem Mass. Not one of us was Catholic or professed any creed threatening an afterlife of eternal suffering for the wicked. No perpetual willies over Judgment Day. Nevertheless, when the massed voices of chorus and orchestra unleashed their frenzy in the climac...
Entheogens or psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are associated with mystical states of experience. Drug laws currently limit research, but important new work is under way at major biomedical research facilities showing that entheogens reliably occasion mystical experiences and thereby allow research into brain states d...
After completing an undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2003, Robin studied psychoanalysis at Masters level, receiving his MA in 2004. In 2005, Robin began a four year PhD in Psychopharmacology at the University of Bristol. Working for Professor David Nutt and Dr Sue Wilson, Robin9s thesis focused on sleep and serotonin function in ecstasy users. Robin con...
Acknowledgments Introduction: Neuropsychopharmacology as Spiritual Technology 1. Psychedelic Revival 2. Swiss Psilocybin and US Dollars 3. The Varieties of Psychedelic Lab Experience 4. Enacting Experimental Psychoses 5. Between Animality and Divinity 6. Mystic Materialism Conclusion: Fieldwork in Perennial Philosophy Notes Bibliography Index
Even if ingesting the hallucinogen psilocybin can increase positive feelings of bliss or oneness with the universe, it is questionable whether such feelings represent authentic mystical experience or spiritual growth.
