Life (Basel, Switzerland)
February 15, 2024
Oytun Aygün, Emily Mohr, Colin Duff et al.
8 citations
An 8-week Mindfulness-Based Pain Management program increased oxytocin levels in chronic pain patients compared to a wait-list control group, while cytokine and DHEA-S levels decreased but not to statistically significant margins. The attenuation of DHEA-S, a stress marker, without reaching statistical significance suggests pain reduction was not solely due to stress reduction, pointing to oxytocin pathways as more salient than previously considered. Psychological assessments showed substantial improvements in pain perception and mood. The study included 50 chronic pain patients and 15 healthy controls, with salivary assays measuring endocrine markers, oxytocin, and inflammatory cytokines.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
December 23, 2021
Nikola Tatalović, Teodora Vidonja Uzelac, Milica Mijović et al.
8 citations
In female rats, ibogaine treatment produced lower liver glycogen breakdown than previously seen in males, along with dilation of liver blood vessels and increased thiol concentrations six hours after dosing. After 24 hours, liver catalase activity and lipid peroxidation rose while xanthine oxidase activity fell. Kidneys showed mild damage, decreased glutathione reductase, and increased catalase and xanthine oxidase activity at various time points. Ibogaine did not alter antioxidant enzymes in red blood cells. Bioavailability of ibogaine was two to three times higher in females than males. Effects were sex- and tissue-specific, and also dose- and time-dependent.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
July 18, 2024
Szabolcs Kéri, Alexander Kancsev, Oguz Kelemen
6 citations
Generalized anxiety disorder involves prolonged worry, physical anxiety, and brain inflammation. A 12-week modular psychotherapy combining cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness meditation reduced both anxiety symptoms and a magnetic resonance imaging marker of neuroinflammation in the amygdala among 50 patients. Anxiety reduction was linked to decreased neuroinflammation in that brain region. The treatment appears to address both psychological and biological aspects of the disorder, suggesting a personalized approach may be effective.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
December 27, 2023
Danko D. Georgiev
Conscious experiences must be causally potent to provide a survival advantage, yet classical physics-based theories of emergence make consciousness epiphenomenal and unable to evolve by natural selection. This review examines recent theoretical advances treating sentience and free will as fundamental aspects of reality grounded in quantum physics. Modern quantum information theory treats quantum states as a physical resource enabling classically impossible tasks. Identifying conscious experiences with the quantum information in brain states allows for causally potent consciousness capable of genuine choices, with brain cortical networks evolving to enhance computational power, memory, and cognitive intelligence.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
June 24, 2021
Peter Walla, Georg Northoff, Cornelia Herbert
The self is not a single, fixed entity but a dynamic structure with multiple aspects that unfold over time. While earlier brain-imaging studies assumed a singular self, recent electrophysiological research provides preliminary evidence for a serial sequence of self-referential processes. The authors propose a Multiple Aspects Self Theory (MAST) distinguishing a primitive, non-personal self (Me1) from an elaborate, personal self (Me2), based on their temporal sequence. This framework aims to guide future studies on the neural dynamics of self-referential processing and its connection to consciousness.