Reviews in the Neurosciences
May 5, 2020
Rebecca McMillan, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy
53 citations
Ketamine has multiple uses—as an anesthetic, a model of psychosis, and an antidepressant—but its physiology is complex because it acts on several sites at clinically relevant doses. This review examines ketamine's acute effects on the resting brain, moving from its pharmacology through in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology to EEG/MEG and neuroimaging studies (MRI and PET). The picture of ketamine's effects is complicated and sometimes confusing, likely due to differences in species, doses, and analytical methods. The authors suggest strategies for future research to address these issues.
Reviews in the Neurosciences
February 20, 2025
Carsten Korth
1 citation
Tool evolution follows Darwinian principles: tools are phenotypes replicated through socially transmitted building instructions, modified by selection for human needs. The ostensive triangle—a pointer, an observer, and an object—enables social transmission of motor-act sequences that replicate tools for convenience or fitness rewards. Tools synchronize perceptions, create psychological understanding, and reshape social networks. Massive tool fabrication has accelerated prosociality and the development of a third-person perspective. This cumulative cultural evolution, entangled with biological evolution, selected traits that enhance social transmission, making tool evolution and individual instructional content prerequisites for higher cognition and consciousness.
Reviews in the Neurosciences
June 3, 2026
Thomas Le François, Charlotte E Hilberdink, Bérengère Guillery-Girard et al.
Mindfulness meditation training (MMT) can reorganize the brain's functional architecture by altering resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) within and between the default mode, salience, and central executive networks. Both increases and decreases in rsFC have been observed after MMT, with differential roles in emotion regulation, stress, and cognitive functions. Changes in rsFC after MMT are linked to modifications in cognitive performance and psycho-affective measures, which may be influenced by practice duration or delivery methods. Investigating rsFC in key brain networks during rest is a promising approach to understanding how mindfulness meditation affects overall well-being.
Reviews in the Neurosciences
February 5, 2021
Jacob S. Aday, J. Wood, Emily K. Bloesch et al.
A narrative review of early- to mid-20th-century research finds that psychedelic drugs alter perception across multiple sensory domains. Psychedelics influence all levels of the visual system, from retina to cortex, and can produce complex imagery and hallucinations. They also affect auditory discrimination and processing, sometimes leading to auditory hallucinations. The drugs distort body schema and time perception. Methodological limitations of that era temper the findings. The review preserves and synthesizes this pioneering work to guide future studies.
Reviews in the Neurosciences
January 1, 2006
B Lenggenhager, S T Smith, O Blanke
The sense of being located inside one's own body—embodiment—depends on distinct brain mechanisms. A review of clinical and neuroimaging studies on multisensory perception, integration, and mental imagery highlights the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) as a key region for coding embodiment. Vestibular mechanisms are especially relevant, and experimental methods that disrupt normal embodiment point to the TPJ's role. The authors conclude that multisensory and vestibular coding at the TPJ enables the experience of being embodied and spatially situated. Pathologies involving a disembodied self, such as out-of-body experiences, likely result from deficient multisensory integration at the TPJ.
Reviews in the Neurosciences
January 1, 1999
F Sams-Dodd
Phencyclidine (PCP) produces effects in rats that resemble both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In the social interaction test, PCP dose-dependently caused stereotyped behavior and social withdrawal. Antipsychotic drugs selectively reduced these PCP-induced behaviors, while non-antipsychotic drugs did not. These findings suggest that PCP effects in the rat social interaction test may serve as a model of schizophrenia symptoms with face and predictive validity, useful for testing new antipsychotic compounds.