Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been explored as an intervention in typical amnestic Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, its effects on episodic and associative memory in atypical forms of AD are less known. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is primarily characterized by visuospatial and visuoperceptual symptoms, although significant episodic memory deficits are often...
This piece is a personal and evidence-informed perspective on the current status and future direction of addiction psychiatry in the UK, based on my 30 years as a clinical academic addiction psychiatrist. Alcohol and drug addictions are associated with immense burdens to the individual and society, and this is likely to endure. Challenges facing addiction services to overcome include...
The mind-brain problem, which explores the relationship between the mind and brain and the nature of consciousness, remains a scientific challenge. It is not a purely theoretical issue; it profoundly shapes our understanding of human nature. This paper reviews evidence on mind-brain problem views impacting ethical, clinical, and academic domains. Evidence shows that dualism is prevalent, even...
The nature of consciousness remains unclear, and academic discussions usually ignore the scientific evidence about anomalous and spiritual experiences suggestive of the mind beyond the brain, mainly because of the lack of a scientific framework that makes sense of these experiences. This manuscript proposes the 'Pragmatic interactionist' scientific framework for the mind-brain relationship...
The mind-body problem remains a central issue in the philosophy of mind. This paper examines how out-of-body experiences (OBEs) might provide insights into the relationship between the mind and body. Four interpretations of OBEs are considered. The first posits that OBEs arise from neural or sensory dysfunction, framing them as products of brain activity. From this perspective, OBEs are akin to...
Dying patients can experience vivid dreams, visions or unexpected lucid episodes despite declining clinical and mental status. This review examines patient end-of-life experiences (ELEs) and their implications to the mind-brain relationship (MBR). A Scoping Review (ScR) was conducted, searching major academic databases for qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods studies. Data were...
In this review, we examine studies suggesting that conscious or mental awareness is constrained by our neural filters. These filters include sensory receptors, the ascending reticular activating system and the thalamus, the default mode network, and left hemisphere language centers. These filters limit our perception of the world to a narrow range of energy frequencies, make sense of space and...
In this narrative review, we will critically assess whether the occurrence of near-death experience (NDE) associated with cardiac arrest (CA) may be explained by brain electrical activity or whether this empirical evidence supports an alternative theory, namely, that consciousness may persist and function beyond the brain. Empirical evidence suggests that NDEs associated with CA likely arise...
While accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) are found around the world and throughout history, descriptions of the phenomenon vary widely. Whether arguing for or against the survival hypothesis, most scholarly and scientific discussions of NDEs are predicated on seeing them as either a universal human phenomenon or as an entirely culturally-constructed one. This article will discuss the...
Mediums are individuals who claim to communicate with deceased persons or non-material beings. Rigorous studies have reported that mediums can provide accurate anomalous information (i.e. information not obtained through the conventional senses or inferential reasoning). This paper reviews the evidence about these claims and explores the main conventional explanatory hypotheses: fraud, sitter's...
Despite the fact that humans experience the reality of consciousness first hand, a remarkable paradigm shift within the Western worldview has entrenched the notion of an inverted cognitive order: first we have objects, and only then minds, if we have them at all. How the community of minds developed such a counterintuitive theory, and how this mental product was elevated to the status of an...
Cases of young children who report memories of a previous life have been the focus of systematic study for the past 60 years. Over 2500 cases of this worldwide phenomenon have been investigated. In the strongest cases, children have provided details that proved strikingly accurate for an individual who lived in the past, sometimes at a great distance from the child's family. This overview...
Major depressive disorder (MDD) significantly impairs adolescents' development, with increasing rates of treatment resistance and suicide risk. Ketamine has emerged as a promising, rapid-acting antidepressant in adults, but its efficacy and safety in adolescents remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate short-term outcomes of ketamine administration in youth...
The renewed interest in psychedelics as treatments for mental health disorders is often referred to as the "Psychedelic Renaissance." This article assesses whether this resurgence truly constitutes a paradigm shift in psychiatry, as some proponents claim, or if it should be viewed as an integration of existing therapeutic approaches. We explore historical contexts, noting that psychedelics were...
In this review, we discuss psychedelics' acute subjective and persisting therapeutic effects, outline the science of positive emotions, and highlight the value in considering distinct positive emotions in psychedelic science. Psychedelics produce a wide variety of acute subjective effects (i.e. the 'trip'), including positive emotions and affective states such as awe and joy. However, despite a...
Psychedelic compounds continue gaining scientific and regulatory traction as potential new treatments for psychiatric disorders. While most psychiatrists will likely not work directly with these compounds, psychedelic research practices provide insights that may improve conventional psychiatric care. Through its emphasis on 'set and setting' (mindset and environment, respectively), psychedelic...
Psychedelics have shown early evidence for a range of benefits and low harm profiles in extant research. However, adverse effects (AEs) research in psychedelics has been limited, leading to underspecified AE profiles, inconsistent measurement, and potential undercounting of AEs. The development of safe, effective psychedelic therapies and treatments for AEs when they occur requires a thorough...
Dissociative therapies are being increasingly explored for their psychiatric applications, although questions remain about how they work and how best to use them. In exploring these questions, this review highlights six key areas of clinical relevance: (1) The possible contributions of functional unblinding when interpreting efficacy data; (2) The degree to which the therapeutic effects of...
OBJECTIVE: The growth of psychedelic medicine creates new challenges in psychiatric education as physicians may soon be responsible for prescribing a number of psychedelic interventions. Despite this growing need for educated providers, very little is known about the training psychiatry residents receive in psychedelic medicine. We conducted a survey to determine the current educational...
Personal psychedelic experience is common among psychedelic therapists and often considered to be a necessary aspect of training: only personal psychedelic experience allows psychedelic therapists to properly guide patients through their own psychedelic experience, to truly understand that experience, and to help them integrate it into their lives. But is this really true? The present paper...
A number of organizations have developed or are developing psychedelic integration groups, held in person or online. In parallel, there have been calls to make enhanced integration available in the community after clinical trials. Here, we explore a potential reason why individuals may seek out these groups: namely, the feelings of disconnection and loneliness that may arise after the...
Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is distinct from yet related to non-pathologic grief, depression, addiction, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with a prevalence of up to 10% in bereaved populations. Hallmarks of PGD include functional impairment a year or more post-bereavement and intense yearning for the deceased. Current treatments for PGD are typically psychological rather than...
Abstract In this paper I explore Walter Benjamin’s complex thoughts about the concept of experience to illuminate a central paradox when thinking about madness. This paradox concerns the need to hold together constellations of concepts that appear to be diametrically opposed. On the one hand there is the realm of the psychopathological; a psychiatric thinking of madness as mental illness that...
This comprehensive review delves into the intricate interplay between gender/sex and MDMA use, drawing upon recent evidence. It explores how girls, as a means of coping with negative emotions, often resort to drug use, while boys primarily initiate drug use due to peer pressure or sensation-seeking tendencies. Women, frequently having endured traumatic life events, may turn to MDMA as a form of...
What are the respective roles of physiological, psychological and social processes in the development of psychiatric disorders? The answer is relevant for deciding on interventions, prevention measures, and for our (self)understanding. Reductionist models assume that only physiological processes are in the end causally relevant. The biopsychosocial (BPS) model, by contrast, assumes that...