The philosophy of artificial intelligence often begins one question too late. Discussions move directly to whether a system could be conscious, whether there is something it is like to be the system, or whether it possesses genuine subjectivity, without first asking a more basic structural question: what would have to be true of a system’s internal organization before those questions gain a...
Recreational nitrous oxide (N2O) misuse is an increasing public health problem associated with functional cobalamin (B12) deficiency and severe neurological complications. Despite growing recognition of its harms, the dose-response relationship and clinical value of biomarkers remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize the demographics, patterns of use, outcomes, and biomarker utility in...
Substance use disorders (SUD) involving ketamine, cocaine, and alcohol present significant clinical challenges, often characterized by high relapse rates and limited pharmacological options. This case report details a 30-year-old male with a five-year history of severe polysubstance dependence, including daily intranasal ketamine use (2–3 g/day), cocaine, and alcohol, comorbid with recurrent...
Abstract Ketamine produces both analgesic and dissociative effects, but whether analgesia depends on dissociation remains debated. This question is part of a broader discussion on whether the subjective experiences elicited by psychoactive drugs are necessary for their therapeutic benefits. Here, we tested whether ketamine-induced analgesia and dissociation show separable behavioral and neural...
of the Review This anatomical review subjects Melo and Roca's (2026) preprint On Cognitive Continuity to systematic structural analysis. The paper advances a relational account of the persistent re-emergence of coherent symbolic patterns in longitudinal human–LLM interaction, carefully distinguishing the phenomenon from memory retention, personalization, roleplay, and autonomous consciousness....
Psilocybin shows therapeutic promise for several psychiatric disorders, but the acute perceptual and cognitive alterations produced by conventional doses (10-25 mg) require in-clinic supervision, which limits scalability. Whether the therapeutically relevant pharmacology of psilocybin can be separated from its hallucinogenic activity remains unresolved. To address this gap, we conducted a Phase...
Abstract Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic drug with emerging therapeutic applications, yet its actions under glutamatergic dysfunction, and relevance to schizophrenia and associated psychiatric disorders, remain unclear. We examined the acute and long-lasting effects of psilocybin (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) on behavioral and neural outcomes in the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5...
This research examines and refutes the common pseudo-scientific argument that equates the metaphysical concept of the "soul" with the physical law of conservation of energy. Frequently deployed by theological apologists and academic professionals outside the field of physics, this argument posits that since energy cannot be destroyed, the conscious human soul must survive biological death by...
Esketamine nasal spray (NS) is an established treatment for patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD). To further optimise real-world outcomes, consensus is needed regarding strategies to enhance patient outcomes and decision-making factors for pivotal timepoints in esketamine NS treatment. This modified Delphi panel (3 rounds) established expert consensus (≥80% agreement) from 30...
Suicide remains a leading cause of premature mortality worldwide. Current treatments are limited by delayed onset, durability, or poor tolerability. This narrative review, informed by a structured literature search, summarises the last decade of evidence on pharmacological and neuromodulation interventions for suicidal ideation (SI) or suicide attempt (SA) that are not approved for these...