Addictive Behaviors
June 1, 2026
Sebastian Ehmann, Nathan M. Hager, Paul S. Regier et al.
Opioid use disorder (OUD) remains a major public health crisis in the United States, with mental health disorders substantially increasing risk severity. Emerging evidence suggests psychedelics may relate to reduced OUD risk. This exploratory study examined associations between lifetime psychedelic use and OUD severity and tested whether these associations varied by mental health impairment....
PsyArXiv
May 27, 2026
Asiya Gul, Sebastian Ehmann, Catherine Prueitt et al.
preprint
Abstract Understanding how the sense of self can be attenuated or reconfigured without loss of consciousness remains a central challenge in contemporary consciousness science. We propose a multidimensional framework of graded self-attenuation, in which the self is conceptualized as a dynamic configuration of distributed neural processes. Within this framework, contemplative practice attenuates...
PsyArXiv
December 31, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Nikoloz Mosahvili, Angela White et al.
preprint
Psychedelic substances reliably occasion transient self-transcendent states, including mystical-type experiences, which are theorized to support salutogenic psychological change and long-term well-being. Despite growing interest in these phenomena, little is known about how acute self-transcendent states translate into enduring trait-level changes, or whether individual differences such as...
December 9, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Terje Sparby, Vanessa Naughton et al.
preprint
Mindfulness is increasingly recognized for its mental health benefits, with evidence supporting efficacy across clinical and non-clinical contexts. However, little research has explored deeper psychological and even existential transformations related to advanced meditation, which meditative traditions regard as essential to actualize the most profound states of well-being. Given the global...
Neuroimage
November 19, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Idil Sezer, Arielle S Keller et al.
2 citations
Attention regulation is a core mechanism of mindfulness meditation and has been proposed to underlie many of its health-related benefits. Here, we review and synthesize behavioral findings on attentional outcomes in long-term meditators, integrating neurocognitive evidence within a meditative development framework. Key findings indicate trait-level improvements across attentional...
Mindfulness
November 19, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Ryan T. Pohlig, Alejandro Chaoul et al.
1 citation
Abstract Objectives As contemplative science continues to evolve, research has shifted from studying the mental health outcomes of brief meditation programs for novice practitioners to investigating traditional meditative paradigms and their associated advanced soteriological aims. However, empirical studies on meditative development remain limited. Methods The present study examined the...
PsyArXiv
November 2, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Nathan M. Hager, Paul S. Regier et al.
preprint
Background and AimsThe ongoing opioid epidemic remains a major public health crisis in the United States, with over 100,000 opioid-related deaths annually. Mental health disorders are strongly associated with opioid use disorder (OUD), compounding risks of misuse and overdose. Emerging evidence indicates that psychedelics may be associated with reduced risk of OUD. This study aimed to estimate...
October 16, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Terje Sparby, Daniel M. Ingram et al.
2 citations
preprint
That meditation is similar to mental training is a widely used analogy that seeks to capture thegrowth-oriented processes that unfold through the intentional performance of mental activities.However, despite its intuitive appeal, this notion remains conceptually underdeveloped. To ourknowledge, no interdisciplinary dialogue has been established with training science—a fielddedicated to the...
October 8, 2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Brian Lord, Erica Cook et al.
preprint
Emerging research suggests some of the most profound meditation-induced psychological transformations require mastery of mental skills that enable access to advanced meditative states, stages, and endpoints. Such development, however, often demands years of sustained practice and expert guidance. Transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) offers a novel means of potentially supporting meditative...
Imaging Neuroscience
2025
Sebastian Ehmann, Idil Sezer, Isaac N Treves et al.
9 citations
Mindfulness meditation is a systematic training in equanimity, sensory clarity, and concentration rooted in ancient contemplative traditions. Here, we synthesized cognitive-behavioral outcomes in long-term meditators (LTMs) resulting from diverse, prolonged meditation practices. Preliminary evidence suggests that LTMs exhibit increased cognitive-sensory integration and decoupling of affective...
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
November 1, 2024
Isaac N Treves, Kannammai Pichappan, Jude Hammoud et al.
35 citations
Trait self-report mindfulness scales measure one's disposition to pay nonjudgmental attention to the present moment. Concerns have been raised about the validity of trait mindfulness scales. Despite this, there is extensive literature correlating mindfulness scales with objective brain measures, with the goal of providing insight into mechanisms of mindfulness, and insight into associated...