Scientific Reports
March 4, 2024
F H Baglivo, N Campora, C J Mininni et al.
Consciousness is one of the most complex aspects of human experience. Studying the mechanisms involved in the transitions among different levels of consciousness remains as one of the greatest challenges in neuroscience. In this study we use a measure of integrated information (ΦAR) to evaluate dynamic changes during consciousness transitions. We applied the measure to intracranial...
Scientific Reports
February 24, 2024
Jennifer W. Evans, Morgan C Graves, Allison C. Nugent et al.
9 citations
The hippocampus and amygdala have been implicated in the pathophysiology and treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). Preclinical models suggest that stress-related changes in these regions can be reversed by antidepressants, including ketamine. Clinical studies have identified reduced volumes in MDD that are thought to be potentiated by early life stress and worsened by repeated...
Scientific Reports
February 22, 2024
Ethan V Hagen, Melike Schalomon, Yanbo Zhang et al.
11 citations
The therapeutic use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has resurfaced in the last decade, prompting further scientific investigation into its effectiveness in many animal models. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are a popular model organism in medical sciences and are used to examine the repeated administration of pharmacological compounds. Previous zebrafish research found acute LSD altered behaviour...
Scientific Reports
February 19, 2024
Rosalind McAlpine, Matthew D. Sacchet, Otto Simonsson et al.
13 citations
Psychedelic substances induce profound alterations in consciousness. Careful preparation is therefore essential to limit adverse reactions, enhance therapeutic benefits, and maintain user safety. This paper describes the development of a self-directed, digital intervention for psychedelic preparation. Drawing on elements from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing...
Scientific Reports
February 8, 2024
Rosalind McAlpine, George Blackburne, Sunjeev K. Kamboj
24 citations
Preparing participants for psychedelic experiences is crucial for ensuring these experiences are safe and, potentially beneficial. However, there is currently no validated measure to assess the extent to which participants are well-prepared for such experiences. Our study aimed to address this gap by developing, validating, and testing the Psychedelic Preparedness Scale (PPS). Using a novel...
Scientific Reports
February 7, 2024
Christopher Timmermann, Richard J. Zeifman, David Erritzøe et al.
37 citations
Abstract Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, is being increasingly researched in clinical studies for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The relatively lengthy duration of oral psilocybin’s acute effects (4–6 h) may have pragmatic and cost-effectiveness limitations. Here, we explored the effects of intravenous (IV) N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a closely related, but faster-acting...
Scientific Reports
February 7, 2024
Broc A. Pagni, Petros Petridis, Samantha K. Podrebarac et al.
30 citations
Abstract This pilot study investigated psilocybin-induced changes in neural reactivity to alcohol and emotional cues in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Participants were recruited from a phase II, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) for the treatment of AUD (NCT02061293). Eleven adult patients completed task-based...
Scientific Reports
February 7, 2024
Tommaso Barba, Hannes Kettner, Caterina Radu et al.
24 citations
Abstract Do psychedelics affect sexual functioning postacutely? Anecdotal and qualitative evidence suggests they do, but this has never been formally tested. While sexual functioning and satisfaction are generally regarded as an important aspect of human wellbeing, sexual dysfunction is a common symptom of mental health disorders. It is also a common side effect of selective serotonin reuptake...
Scientific Reports
February 5, 2024
Alistair Niemeijer, Erwin Krediet, Jeanine Kamphuis et al.
50 citations
Abstract Psilocybin is the most researched classic psychedelic for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). While optimizing set and setting are considered essential for efficacy and safety, patient perspectives on these aspects have rarely been investigated. To address this knowledge gap, the current paper explored the experiences of 11 TRD patients (8 women, 3 men) participating in a...
Scientific Reports
January 29, 2024
Oris Shenyan, Matteo Lisi, John A. Greenwood et al.
13 citations
Visual hallucinations can be phenomenologically divided into those of a simple or complex nature. Both simple and complex hallucinations can occur in pathological and non-pathological states, and can also be induced experimentally by visual stimulation or deprivation-for example using a high-frequency, eyes-open flicker (Ganzflicker) and perceptual deprivation (Ganzfeld). Here we leverage the...
Scientific Reports
December 19, 2023
María Guadalupe Mora Álvarez, Britta Karen Hölzel, Benno Bremer et al.
19 citations
Mindfulness meditation training (MMT) reliably reduces stress and anxiety while also improving attention. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between MMT, stress and anxiety reduction, and its impact upon improvements in attention on the behavioral and neuronal levels. As a second aim, we sought to explore any relationship between MMT, attention, and modified...
Scientific Reports
December 19, 2023
Antje Peters, Maximilian Bruchmann, Torge Dellert et al.
While inattentional blindness and deafness studies have revealed neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) without the confound of task relevance in the visual and auditory modality, comparable studies for the somatosensory modality are lacking. Here, we investigated NCC using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in an inattentional numbness paradigm. Participants (N = 44) received weak...
Scientific Reports
December 13, 2023
Katharina Voltmer, Finja Hondrich, Maria Von Salisch
3 citations
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been shown to improve children's academic achievements. Because MBIs include different exercises (possibly with differential effects), the teacher-led Breathing Break Intervention (BBI) was developed which focuses exclusively on breathing exercises and body awareness. The short daily breathing practices of BBI were evaluated in terms of their effects...
Scientific Reports
December 13, 2023
Guy W. Fincham, Clara Strauss, Kate Cavanagh
Breathwork may offer simple tools for stress resilience. We conducted the largest parallel randomised-controlled trial on breathwork to date (NCT05676658) wherein 400 participants on the research platform Prolific were randomised, in blocks of 2 via remote software, to coherent breathing at ~ 5.5 breaths/min or a matched attention-placebo at 12 breaths/min, for ~ 10 min/day over 4 weeks....
Scientific Reports
December 7, 2023
O. U. Turer, M. Ozcan, B. Alkaya et al.
Dental implant surgery is almost always associated with patient anxiety. Anxiety during dental surgical procedures triggers an increase in sympathetic activity. Mindfulness meditation (MM) is often associated with high levels of relaxation in the form of increased parasympathetic tone and decreased sympathetic activity. However, the effect of MM on dental anxiety is not clear. The current study...
Scientific Reports
December 1, 2023
Amir Harduf, Gabriella Panishev, Eiran V Harel et al.
The sense of self is a foundational element of neurotypical human consciousness. We normally experience the world as embodied agents, with the unified sensation of our selfhood being nested in our body. Critically, the sense of self can be altered in psychiatric conditions such as psychosis and altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelic compounds. The similarity of phenomenological...
Scientific Reports
November 24, 2023
Robert Palmer, Corey Roos, Nilofar Vafaie et al.
26 citations
We aimed to elucidate the effects of "dose" of a single-session of mindfulness meditation on state mindfulness and affect as well as moderators of effects. 372 adults recruited remotely via Amazon's MTurk platform were randomly assigned to either a: 10-min mindfulness meditation, 20-min mindfulness meditation, 10-min control, or 20-min control. Control conditions were recordings of a National...
Scientific Reports
November 10, 2023
Lucas Cruz, Bheatrix Bienemann, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes et al.
3 citations
Ayahuasca is a brew with psychoactive properties that has been used as an entheogen for centuries, with more recent studies suggesting it is a promising treatment for some clinical disorders. Although there is an emerging scientific literature on its effects, to the best of our knowledge no study has explored the self-reported experiences of first-time ayahuasca users with quantitative textual...
Scientific Reports
November 9, 2023
Francisco T Gallo, Ignacio Spiousas, Nerea L Herrero et al.
5 citations
Dreaming is a complex phenomenon that occurs during sleep, involving various conscious dream experiences. Lucid dreams (LDs) involve heightened awareness within the dream environment, while out-of-body experiences (OBEs) involve the sensation of being outside one's physical body. OBEs occur during sleep paralysis (SP), where voluntary movements are inhibited during sleep/wake transitions while...
Scientific Reports
October 16, 2023
Sascha Ketelhut, Dario Querciagrossa, Xaviér J. B. Bisang et al.
12 citations
The Wim Hof method (WHM) is a multi-disciplinary approach to physical and mental well-being combining cold exposure, breathing exercises, and meditation. This study evaluated the effects of a 15 days WHM intervention on cardiovascular parameters at rest and during a cold pressor test (CPT), as well as on various psychological parameters. Forty two participants were randomized into an...
Scientific Reports
October 14, 2023
Nathalie M. Rieser, Ladina P Gubser, Flora Moujaes et al.
14 citations
Research into the use of psilocybin for the treatment of psychiatric disorders is a growing field. Nevertheless, robust brain-behavior relationships linking psilocybin-induced brain changes to subjective drug-induced effects have not been established. Furthermore, it is unclear if the acute neural effects are dependent on individual heterogeneity in baseline characteristics. To address this, we...
Scientific Reports
October 6, 2023
Junliang Zhang, Zhongzheng Hu, Shuang Zheng et al.
11 citations
The study aims to explore the relationship among mindfulness, depression, meaning in life (MIL) and psychological resilience (PR), and verify whether MIL and PR have a chain mediating effect between mindfulness and depression. 1034 college students in a province were investigated by using Adolescent Mindfulness Scale, Depression Scale, Meaning in Life Scale and Psychological Resilience Scale....
Scientific Reports
October 2, 2023
David R. Samson, Alice Clerget, Noor H. Abbas et al.
2 citations
The function of dreams is a longstanding scientific research question. Simulation theories of dream function, which are based on the premise that dreams represent evolutionary past selective pressures and fitness improvement through modified states of consciousness, have yet to be tested in cross-cultural populations that include small-scale forager societies. Here, we analyze dream content...
Scientific Reports
September 30, 2023
Alexander V. Lebedev, Kasim Acar, Otilia Horntvedt et al.
9 citations
Previous research has suggested that classical psychedelics can foster significant and enduring changes in personality traits and subjective wellbeing. Despite the lack of evidence for adverse effects on mental health stemming from psychedelic use, concerns persist regarding the capacity of these substances to modulate information processing and attitudes towards factual data. The aim of the...
Scientific Reports
September 25, 2023
Rebecka Bremler, Nancy Katati, Parvinder Shergill et al.
102 citations
Abstract Recent controversies have arisen regarding claims of uncritical positive regard and hype surrounding psychedelic drugs and their therapeutic potential. Criticisms have included that study designs and reporting styles bias positive over negative outcomes. The present study was motivated by a desire to address this alleged bias by intentionally focusing exclusively on negative outcomes,...