Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
2025
Ioanna Amaya, Till Nierhaus, Timo T Schmidt
Aberrant thalamocortical connectivity occurs together with visual hallucinations in various pathologies and drug-induced states, highlighting the need to better understand how thalamocortical interactions may contribute to hallucinatory phenomena. Flicker light stimulation (FLS) at 10-Hz reliably and selectively induces transient visual hallucinations in healthy participants. Arrhythmic flicker...
Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)
2023
Ioanna Amaya, Marianna E. Schmidt, Marie T Bartossek et al.
The thalamus is primarily known as a relay for sensory information; however, it also critically contributes to higher-order cortical processing and coordination. Thalamocortical hyperconnectivity is associated with hallucinatory phenomena that occur in various psychopathologies (e.g., psychosis, migraine aura) and altered states of consciousness (ASC; e.g., induced by psychedelic drugs)....
Scientific Reports
October 29, 2020
Timo Torsten Schmidt, Nisha Jagannathan, Michal Ljubljanac et al.
Different pharmacologic agents have been used to investigate the neuronal underpinnings of alterations in consciousness states, such as psychedelic substances. Special attention has been drawn to the role of thalamic filtering of cortical input. Here, we investigate the neuronal mechanisms underlying an altered state of consciousness (ASC) induced by a non-pharmacological procedure. During fMRI...
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
July 1, 2016
Michael J Hove, Johannes Stelzer, Till Nierhaus et al.
99 citations
Trance is an absorptive state of consciousness characterized by narrowed awareness of external surroundings and has long been used-for example, by shamans-to gain insight. Shamans across cultures often induce trance by listening to rhythmic drumming. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined the brain-network configuration associated with trance. Experienced shamanic...