Kuyken et al’s1 individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for the prevention of depressive relapse/recurrence has supported MBCT’s dissemination as a frontline treatment for depression. MBCT is now recommended in multiple clinical guidelines including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the United Kingdom and is widely...
Importance: Depression most commonly first emerges during adolescence, making early prevention critical. While school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) offers a scalable prevention approach with broad reach, evidence of its effectiveness is mixed, and there is a compelling case for a more personalized approach to prevention. Objective: To develop a data-driven algorithm from baseline...
N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a fast-acting psychedelic drug that induces a radical reorganization of conscious contents and brain dynamics. However, our understanding of how brain dynamics support psychedelic-induced conscious states remains unclear. We therefore present a repeated-measures dose-dependent study of the subjective and neural dynamics induced through DMT under naturalistic...
S.2585 is a significant Dunhuang manuscript, providing various types of Buddhist meditative techniques. Some techniques can be traced back to Central Asia and India, although some techniques seem to have been developed later. I argue that the vision of buddhas that accompanies single-minded contemplation of the navel as described in S.2585 may reflect the idea of a “buddha within” denoting the...
How do we lose and regain consciousness? The space between healthy wakefulness and unconsciousness encompasses a series of gradual and rapid changes in brain activity. In this thesis, I investigate computational measures applicable to the electroencephalogram to quantify the loss and recovery of consciousness from the perspective of modern theoretical frameworks. I examine three different...
The first half of this thesis argues that scepticism about the evidential force of religious experiences is driven by concerns about the traditional practices used to discern between ‘illusory’ and ‘genuine’ experiences. As these practices require commitment to a particular tradition, we have no way of deciding which practice to trust. Furthermore, the tests the practices employ do not bear on...
The University of Cambridge and the National Institute for Health Research and Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC), East of England, are currently undertaking research into the effectiveness of mindfulness as a way of combatting student stress. In this article, various stakeholders in the project describe its purpose, its focus, and the delivery of...
Questions of the nature of the Self and the purpose of life have been of interest to mankind for millennia, culminating in the study of Consciousness in various civilizations. Amidst the milieu of ancient and contemporary theories of Consciousness is the ancient Indian philosophy of advaita-vedānta, or the system of non-duality. This dissertation explores the nature of the Self as Consciousness...
I defend physicalism about phenomenal consciousness against recent epistemic arguments for dualism. First I argue (as against Kripke) that psychophysical identities can be a posteriori (and apparently contingent, and conceivably false). Their epistemic status is due to the analytic independence of phenomenal and physical-functional terms. Unlike Kripke’s own explanation of a posteriori...
This dissertation examines suspicions and accusations of affliction with curses in the Republic of Tuva, south Siberia (Russia). Based on a sample of consultations between shamans and clients regarding curse-inflicted misfortunes, as well as on sociological and statistical sources about post-Soviet Tuva, this thesis identifies a significant incidence of curse accusations in contemporary Tuva. I...