PLoS One
April 6, 2012
Jonathan Smallwood, Kevin Brown, Benjamin Baird et al.
92 citations
Although consciousness can be brought to bear on both perceptual and internally generated information, little is known about how these different cognitive modes are coordinated. Here we show that between-participant variance in thoughts unrelated to the task being performed (known as task unrelated thought, TUT) is associated with longer response times (RT) when target presentation occurs...
PLoS One
February 17, 2012
Erich Studerus, Alex Gamma, Michael Kometer et al.
372 citations
Responses to hallucinogenic drugs, such as psilocybin, are believed to be critically dependent on the user's personality, current mood state, drug pre-experiences, expectancies, and social and environmental variables. However, little is known about the order of importance of these variables and their effect sizes in comparison to drug dose. Hence, this study investigated the effects of 24...
PLoS One
June 21, 2011
Gene expression changes in GABA(A) receptors and cognition following chronic ketamine administration in mice.
PLoS One
2011
Mark Blagrove, Nathalie C Fouquet, Josephine A Henley-Einion et al.
This study investigates evidence, from dream reports, for memory consolidation during sleep. It is well-known that events and memories from waking life can be incorporated into dreams. These incorporations can be a literal replication of what occurred in waking life, or, more often, they can be partial or indirect. Two types of temporal relationship have been found to characterize the time of...
PLoS One
December 8, 2010
Temporal dynamics of distinct CA1 cell populations during unconscious state induced by ketamine.
PLoS One
December 2, 2010
Gantt P. Galloway, Jennifer D. Siegrist, Lynn C. Robertson et al.
22 citations
BACKGROUND: The mechanisms of drug-induced visions are poorly understood. Very few serotonergic hallucinogens have been studied in humans in decades, despite widespread use of these drugs and potential relevance of their mechanisms to hallucinations occurring in psychiatric and neurological disorders. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the mechanisms of hallucinogen-induced visions...
PLoS One
August 31, 2010
Erich Studerus, Alex Gamma, Franz X. Vollenweider
693 citations
The original scales of the OAV were shown to be multidimensional constructs. Eleven new lower order scales were constructed and demonstrated to have desirable psychometric properties. The new lower order scales are most likely better suited to assess drug induced ASC.
PLoS One
March 4, 2010
Thomas S. Ray
57 citations
correction
We currently understand the mental effects of psychedelics to be caused by agonism or partial agonism of 5-HT 2A (and possibly 5-HT 2C ) receptors, and we understand that psychedelic drugs, especially phenylalkylamines, are fairly selective for these two receptors.This manuscript is a reference work on the receptor affinity pharmacology of psychedelic drugs.New data is presented on the affinity...
PLoS One
February 10, 2010
Clara Touriño, Andreas Zimmer, Olga Valverde
55 citations
The majority of MDMA (ecstasy) recreational users also consume cannabis. Despite the rewarding effects that both drugs have, they induce several opposite pharmacological responses. MDMA causes hyperthermia, oxidative stress and neuronal damage, especially at warm ambient temperature. However, THC, the main psychoactive compound of cannabis, produces hypothermic, anti-inflammatory and...
PLoS One
2010
Olivier Jacques Manzoni, Thomas S. Ray
295 citations
We currently understand the mental effects of psychedelics to be caused by agonism or partial agonism of 5-HT2A (and possibly 5-HT2C) receptors, and we understand that psychedelic drugs, especially phenylalkylamines, are fairly selective for these two receptors. This manuscript is a reference work on the receptor affinity pharmacology of psychedelic drugs. New data is presented on the affinity...
PLoS One
November 20, 2009
Stéphane Doly, Jesus Bertran‐gonzalez, Jacques Callebert et al.
80 citations
The amphetamine derivative 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy) reverses dopamine and serotonin transporters to produce efflux of dopamine and serotonin, respectively, in regions of the brain that have been implicated in reward. However, the role of serotonin/dopamine interactions in the behavioral effects of MDMA remains unclear. We previously showed that MDMA-induced locomotion,...
PLoS One
September 30, 2009
Sam Harris, Jonas Kaplan, Ashley Curiel et al.
173 citations
While religious and nonreligious thinking differentially engage broad regions of the frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobes, the difference between belief and disbelief appears to be content-independent. Our study compares religious thinking with ordinary cognition and, as such, constitutes a step toward developing a neuropsychology of religion. However, these findings may also further...
PLoS One
May 28, 2009
Chao‐gan Yan, Dongqiang Liu, Yong He et al.
315 citations
BACKGROUND: Recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies have demonstrated that there is an intrinsically organized default mode network (DMN) in the resting brain, primarily made up of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Several previous studies have found that the DMN is minimally disturbed during different resting-state conditions with limited cognitive...
PLoS One
September 2, 2008
Giuseppe Pagnoni, Milos Cekic, Ying Guo
189 citations
Recent neuroimaging studies have identified a set of brain regions that are metabolically active during wakeful rest and consistently deactivate in a variety the performance of demanding tasks. This "default network" has been functionally linked to the stream of thoughts occurring automatically in the absence of goal-directed activity and which constitutes an aspect of mental behavior...
PLoS One
March 25, 2008
Antoine Lutz, Julie A. Brefczynski-Lewis, Tom Johnstone et al.
942 citations
Recent brain imaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have implicated insula and anterior cingulate cortices in the empathic response to another's pain. However, virtually nothing is known about the impact of the voluntary generation of compassion on this network. To investigate these questions we assessed brain activity using fMRI while novice and expert meditation...