Psychedelics, Spirituality, and Fundamentalism: A Brain Network Approach to Cognitive Flexibility and Rigidity
Anjian Yang, Xinyou Lv, Hongshuang Wang, Xiaohui Wang
ACS Chemical Neuroscience July 24, 2025 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.5c00509 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | Psilocybin Lysergic acid diethylamide N N-dimethyltryptamine |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Extremism Fundamentalism Terrorism Rigid thinking Inflexible beliefs Dogmatic thinking Psychedelics: psychedelic substances Entheogens Mental health treatment Cognitive enhancement Belief system modulation Spirituality: mysticism Spiritual growth Consciousness exploration |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that mysticism and fundamentalism can be reconceptualized as brain network disorders and that psychedelics may modulate these states by disrupting rigid neural patterns. |
Abstract
This viewpoint reconceptualizes mysticism and fundamentalism as brain network disorders, with psychedelics like psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide, and N,N-dimethyltryptamine offering potential to modulate these states. By disrupting rigid neural patterns, psychedelics may foster cognitive flexibility, challenge inflexible belief systems, and offer therapeutic value for extremism and mental health disorders.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- The entropic brain: a theory of conscious states informed by neuroimaging research with psychedelic drugs Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness Journal of Psychopharmacology September 28, 2011
- Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. Pharmacology & Therapeutics May 1, 2019
and 3 more in the library