The Serotonergic System and Mysticism: Could LSD and the Nondrug-Induced Mystical Experience Share Common Neural Mechanisms?
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2002 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2002.10399962 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | LSD Mysticism Serotonin Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Consciousness Action physics |
| Citations | 30 |
| Key points | Proposes that LSD and religious mystical experiences may have common modes of action upon the brain due to similarities in their effects. |
Abstract
This article aims to explore, through established scientific research and documented accounts of personal experience, the similarities between religious mystical experiences and some effects of D-lysergic diethylamide or LSD. LSD predominantly works upon the serotonergic (serotonin-using neurons) diffuse neuromodulatory system, which projects its axons to virtually all areas of the brain including the neocortex. By its normal action it modulates awareness of the environmental surroundings and filters a high proportion of this information before it can be processed, thereby only allowing the amount of information that is necessary for survival. LSD works to open this filter, and so an increased amount of somatosensory data is processed with a corresponding increase in what is deemed important. This article describes the effects and actions of LSD, and due to the similarities with the nondrug-induced mystical experience the author proposes that the two could have common modes of action upon the brain. This could lead to avenues of research into mysticism and a wealth of knowledge on consciousness and how we perceive the universe.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on LSD, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Experimental Use of Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy | 1970 | Historical analysis | |
| LSD: My Problem Child | 1981 | Historical analysis | |
| On the Use and Abuse of LSD | 1968 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Use of Music in Psychedelic (LSD) Psychotherapy | 1972 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Flashbacks: Recurrent Intrusive Images After the Use of LSD | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- Ego-Dissolution and Psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI) Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 14, 2016
- Finding the self by losing the self: Neural correlates of ego-dissolution under psilocybin Human Brain Mapping May 22, 2015
- d-Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) as a Model of Psychosis: Mechanism of Action and Pharmacology International Journal of Molecular Sciences November 23, 2016
- Evidence for a common biological basis of the absorption trait, hallucinogen effects, and positive symptoms: Epistasis between 5-HT2a and COMT polymorphisms American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics June 17, 2005
- Psychotic Symptoms as a Continuum between Normality and Pathology The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry March 1, 2009
and 10 more in the library
Cites 7
- Evidence for 5-HT2 involvement in the mechanism of action of hallucinogenic agents. Life Sciences December 17, 1984
- The neural substrates of religious experience The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences August 1, 1997
- LSD: My Problem Child The Antioch Review 1981
- Dissociations Between the Effects of LSD on Behavior and Raphe Unit Activity in Freely Moving Cats Science August 3, 1979
- Raphe neurons: firing rate correlates with size of drug response. European Journal of Pharmacology June 3, 1983
and 2 more in the library