Psychoactives
July 28, 2026
David W. Lawrence
The nature of the psychedelic experience, and the distinctive phenomenological features it generates, leaves it susceptible to an unresolved epistemological tension between first-person phenomenological reports and claims about the fundamental nature of consciousness and reality. This tension is examined through the concept of ontological tourism: the practice of treating phenomenological data...
PsyArXiv
March 28, 2026
David W. Lawrence, Ari Brouwer, Nicholas Fabiano et al.
preprint
Despite being induced by a transient pharmacological exposure, psychedelic experiences can catalyze enduring psychological transformation, presenting a central challenge for understanding the mechanism of action of psychedelic medicines. To address this challenge, the Allostatic Reset Model (ARM) of psychedelic action is proposed, which conceptualizes psychedelic therapeutic effects as a...
Discover Mental Health
March 7, 2026
Nicholas Fabiano, Brendon Stubbs, David W. Lawrence et al.
Upwards of 50% of people do not respond to the primary treatment modalities for major depressive disorder (MDD), which has led to increased attention and use of alternative methods, including exercise and psychedelics. While interventions using either exercise or psychedelics have demonstrated largely positive results in isolation, their synergistic potential has yet to be explored. As such,...
Psychoactives
July 1, 2025
David W. Lawrence, Alex P. Di Battista, Michael G. Hutchison
1 citation
Background: Persisting symptoms after concussion is a complex syndrome warranting exploration into further treatment options. Emerging research highlights the potential of classic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, in managing neuropsychiatric conditions and promoting neuroprotection. Case Report: A case is presented of a 22-year-old male intercollegiate athlete who sustained a concussion and...
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
2023
Anja Pichl, Robert Ranisch, Ozan Altan Altinok et al.
Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are model systems that enable researchers to investigate the human brain in ways that had previously been impossible. The emergence of HCOs was accompanied by both expert and layperson discussions concerning the possibility of these novel entities developing sentience or consciousness. Such concerns are reflected in deliberations about how to handle and regulate...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
February 3, 2021
Bhanu Sharma, David W. Lawrence, Roland R. Griffiths et al.
37 citations
This study was designed to identify trends in the top-cited classic psychedelic publications. The top 50 publications on classic psychedelics with the greatest total of number of citations and annual citation rate were identified and pooled. Unique articles (n = 76) were dichotomized by median year of publication (2010.5); the differential distribution of study characteristics between the...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
August 2018
Emily Hielscher, Melissa Connell, David W. Lawrence et al.
Despite growing literature on psychotic experiences, no nationally representative study has reported on the prevalence of both hallucinatory experiences and delusional experiences in Australian adolescents. Also, while many studies have examined the association between psychotic experiences and certain demographic and clinical correlates, there are more variables of interest to be investigated,...