Mindfulness is the psychological state of staying attuned to the present moment, without ruminating on past or future events, and allowing thoughts, feelings, or sensations to arise without judgment or attachment. Previous work has shown that heightened dispositional mindfulness is associated with the awareness of the importance of exercise, exercise self-efficacy, exercise motivation, and...
The last decade has witnessed a remarkable progress in our understanding of the brain. This has mainly been based on the scrutiny and modeling of the transmission of activity among neurons across lively synapses. A main conclusion, thus far, is that essential features of the mind rely on collective phenomena that emerge from a willful interaction of many neurons that, mediating other cells,...
The main claim of the famous paper “The Extended Mind”, written by Clark and Chalmers (CC), is that the mind could literally extend into the external world. Among the many opponents of this claim, Robert Rupert has raised two main objections against it. The first, depending on the acceptance or denial of the possible 4th feature the hypothesis of extended cognition (HEC) is either insignificant...
Cannabis is commonly used among people who drink alcohol, yet evidence on acute effects of co-use is conflicting. Two important variables that may influence the effects of cannabis and alcohol are cannabinoid content (i.e., the ratio of cannabidiol [CBD] and 9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) as well as the order of use (i.e., cannabis before alcohol vs. alcohol before cannabis). Research is mixed...
Researchers have associated cannabis use with risk for psychosis, cognitive impairment, and traffic accident. However, this review shows that the association between moderate cannabis use and psychosis is no stronger, and often considerably weaker, than the corresponding association for moderate tobacco use. The same holds for associations with cognitive impairment. For the risk of traffic...
Adolescence is a crucial developmental period where neural circuits are refined and the brain is especially vulnerable to external insults. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system undergoes changes during adolescence which affect the way in which it modulates the development of other systems, in particular dopamine circuits, which show protracted development into adolescence. Given the rise of...
Ketamine has demonstrated at a lower dose a robust and rapid antidepressant effect due to a mechanism of action different from conventional treatments. It is now included in several international recommendations on treatment-resistant depression. Ketamine may be used in both out- or in-patient settings, generally by way of intravenous or intranasal formulations provided the fulfillment of...
Creativity, that is the creation of ideas or objects considered both novel and valuable, is among the most important and highly valued of human traits, and a fundamental aspect of the sciences. Dreams and hypnagogic states have been highly influential in promoting scientific creativity and insight, contributing to some important scientific breakthroughs. Phenomenologically, the latter states of...
Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon in which the dreamer is aware that he/she is dreaming while the dream is still going on. Many studies investigated the prevalence of lucid dreaming in various populations; however, no study has been conducted in the Arab Middle East region. As age and cultural differences in attitudes towards dreams may influence lucid dreaming, we aimed to investigate lucid...
This study considers the relationship between dreaming and race in light of the public protests following the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Findings are presented from an online survey about dreams and the Black Lives Movement (BLM) gathered from 4,947 demographically diverse American adults sampled between June 15 and June 19, 2020. The results show that the people most likely to...