Abstract Background The Pivotal Mental States (PiMS) construct posits that psychedelics and other stress-inducing practices, such as fasting and hypoxia, can evoke transformative mental states through increased serotonin receptor activation in the brain. These states are associated with enhanced cognitive flexibility, accelerated associative learning, and psychological insights that may...
In a vision-first story, conscious vision evolved before other kinds of conscious experience. This can be contrasted with an olfaction-first story, in which conscious vision co-opted integrative mechanisms that first evolved for modeling the causes of olfactory stimuli. An olfaction-first story makes good sense of the connection between consciousness and holistic integration across temporal...
The sensory horizons hypothesis as an explanation of consciousness depends on visual experience directly affecting neural activity underlying conscious model-based planning. Given that there is no known mechanism for subjective experience to generate action potentials, the sensory horizons hypothesis lacks explanatory insight into the function of consciousness. We contend that a better strategy...
The authors make common assumptions that I reject: that consciousness has functions distinct from those of the brain processes on which it depends, that there is a moment at which consciousness happens, and that consciousness itself can be measured. This leads to Cartesian materialism and asking such unanswerable questions as when and why consciousness evolved. An alternative view is proposed.
According to the Relativistic Theory of Consciousness by Lahav and Neemeh, consciousness is not an absolute feature but a relativistic one that depends on the reference system of the observer. The theory offers a new, thought-provoking view on consciousness, but also raises critical issues. First: What is the fundamental precondition of consciousness which the Relativistic Theory may be based...
Importance: Cannabis use (CU) in adolescence is linked to increased risk of developing psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) that can lead to lifelong impairment. A candidate mechanism may be disruptions in reward processing supported by dopamine but this association has not yet been tested in adolescents with CU and PLEs. The objective of the study was to assess the interrelation between CU, PLEs,...
Iconicity denotes an informative relation between the form of an utterance and the meaning of that utterance. With good design, an utterance directly invites a suitable perceiver with a certain initiation to grasp a meaning in the right direction. Despite the touted importance of iconicity in languaging, it proves difficult to define more formally. When the term is defined, researchers often...
Abstract It is well-established that phenomenology is about both existent and imaginary entities. The latter category encompasses necessary beings, hypothetical objects, possible objects, and modal properties. Given the vast range of potential intentional objects for intentional states, the total number of such mental states would vastly exceed the number of possible physical states. This...
Background: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is associated with substantial functional impairment, suicide risk, and health-care costs. Ketamine and its S-enantiomer, esketamine, have emerged as rapid-acting glutamatergic treatment options for TRD. Aim: This review aims to synthesize current evidence on the different ketamine administration routes for TRD, with a focus on acute and...
Ketamine has emerged as a promising rapid-acting treatment for mood disorders and suicidality. Notwithstanding its replicated antidepressant efficacy, ketamine-associated risk for abuse, dependence, and misuse remain. We conducted a systematic review of clinical and preclinical studies from database inception to August 2025, including randomized and observational trials, open-label extensions,...