Background Methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) is associated with substantial psychiatric and physical morbidity, and current treatment options remain limited. Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) has shown promise in substance use disorders, but little is known about how individuals experience and interpret this intervention, particularly in MAUD. Qualitative investigation may provide insight...
Iboga alkaloids, including ibogaine, its primary metabolite noribogaine, and the naturally occurring congener ibogamine, have shown promise for the treatment of substance use and other neuropsychiatric disorders but are limited by cardiotoxic effects. Safer synthetic analogs, such as oxa-noribogaine, are under active development; however, validated analytical methods for quantifying these...
This article investigates the relationship between Buddhist philosophy and dietary practices. Through an analysis of the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the text discusses how early Buddhism guides ethical and contemplative approaches to food in the pursuit of liberation from suffering. The article then explores dietary ethics within...
Mind‑body practices, such as meditation and yoga, involve paying attention to breathing sensations. During these practices, individuals report "interoceptive lapses," moments when attention drifts away from internal bodily sensations. While lapses in attention to the external world have been widely studied, little is known about the physiological and neural mechanisms of interoceptive lapses....
This paper introduces a theoretical framework for the architectural design of self-aware artificial systems. Building upon the neurobiological foundations of homeostasis established by Antonio Damasio, I argue that consciousness is not an emergent metaphysical anomaly, but a mandatory functional requirement for the survival of complex systems. I propose an architecture consisting of three...
Preprint — not peer reviewed Abstract Claims about organized interiority, consciousness-relevant organization, and cross-substrate equivalence are often advanced through broad resemblance to markers such as integration, recurrence, synchrony, adaptive behavior, or substrate-specific dynamics. Such features may be scientifically informative, but their presence alone does not establish an...
Este artigo reflete sobre a expansão global da Ayahuasca e suas implicações para a redução de danos em saúde mental e para as transformações na psique individual e coletiva. Tem como objetivo analisar os potenciais psicoterapêuticos e os desafios psicossociais do uso da Ayahuasca por pessoas não indígenas formadas sob pilares antropocêntricos. Para isso, realizou-se uma revisão bibliográfica a...
BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder is one of the most debilitating psychiatric disorders worldwide. First-line treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have significant limitations, including delayed onset of therapeutic effects and treatment resistance in about 30% of patients. Increasing evidence suggests that acute administration of serotonergic psychedelics, such as...
This thesis examined how psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) affects social behaviour in mice with and without anorexia-like symptoms. It found that psilocybin's effects varied dramatically between male and female mice and changed over time. Female mice became more social and showed increased brain reward signals, while males displayed reduced stress behaviours and dampened...
The neural correlates of conscious perception remain debated, particularly regarding the role of extra-sensory regions such as the prefrontal cortex. One promising approach is to study the dynamical properties of neural processing in task-related and task-free contexts. A previous EEG study showed that conscious perception is associated with all-or-none late activations, giving rise to...