Elizabeth J Davies, Natalie Ertl, Tom P. Freeman et al.
Adolescence is a critical period of brain development during which the endocannabinoid system continues to mature. These developmental changes may contribute to age-related differences in the association between cannabis use and large-scale functional network organisation, yet this association remains incompletely characterised. We hypothesised that regular cannabis use would be associated with...
Iman Attackpour Torik, Mohammad Moeini, Shahram Moghaddam et al.
preprint
Abstract Introduction: Precipitated withdrawal syndrome (POW) occurs when agonist-antagonist opioids are administered to individuals dependent on full agonist opioids. This class of drugs exerts strong antagonistic effects, is associated with mu-opioid receptor depletion, and induces severe withdrawal symptoms in affected patients. Standard management typically involves supportive care and...
Soumyajit Karmakar
Reduced spontaneous thought during meditation is often described phenomenologically, but a mechanistic account should specify how a dynamical system can enter and persist in such a regime. Here we formulate a minimal statistical-mechanical model in which a dimensionless coordinate, q, represents a coarse-grained propensity for spontaneous-thought activity, and a slowly relaxing variable, r of...
Minkyung Kim, UnCheol Lee
preprint
Abstract: Brain networks during unconscious states resulting from sleep, anesthesia, or traumatic injuries are associated with a limited capacity for complex responses to stimulation. Even during the conscious resting state, responsiveness to stimulus is highly dependent on spontaneous brain activities. Many empirical findings have been suggested that the brain responsiveness is determined...
Lautaro Mundel, Vicente Medel, Christopher Timmermann et al.
Psychedelics are increasingly explored as tools to investigate consciousness and cognition, and as potential treatments for mood disorders. While neuroimaging has been central to characterizing their mechanisms of action, the interpretation of these studies may be confounded by the neurovascular effects elicited by these drugs. Here, we investigated the modulation of resting state neurovascular...
Alvita Sam, Alexander de Foe, Aspasia Stacey Rabba et al.
preprint
Background: Autistic adults are under-investigated in psychedelic research, despite speculated elevated likelihood of substance use for therapeutic and recreational purposes.Aims: This study explored contexts of naturalistic psychedelic use and wellbeing and mental health indicators in a group of Autistic adults using psychedelics for therapeutic purposes, and compared these with the broader...
Patrick Ryan
preprint
Ayahuasca ceremonies organize care through preparation, accompaniment, observation, and responses to distress. These functions resemble nursing work, but their purposes, authority, and accountability differ. This article examines what nursing can learn from documented ceremonial arrangements and what changes when a licensed nurse participates. It brings ethnographic accounts, religious...
Ruiyi Qiu, Scott Galeung Alexander Mann, Thiago Nascimento et al.
Ayahuasca, used religiously for centuries by Amazonian Indigenous peoples and increasingly studied for its therapeutic potential, owes its psychoactivity to two plants: Psychotria viridis supplies N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), whereas Banisteriopsis caapi supplies beta-carbolines that render DMT orally active. Here we show that the two plants have distinct genome histories: P. viridis is...
Miguel Castelo-Branco, Anna Gaidosch, Marta Teixeira et al.
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Abstract Ayahuasca, an amazonian brew containing the serotonergic psychedelic substance N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), induces distinctive visual perceptual phenomenology, yet the neural mechanisms underlying the interplay between external visual drive and internal imagery remain unknown. Using a placebo-controlled, within-subject fMRI design, the present study investigated the impact of...
Kenneth Einar Himma
preprint
A spate of papers have recently appeared raising the issue of the possibility of not only artificial agency, but also artificial moral agency that raises all sorts of substantive questions of moral responsibility. Suppose, for example, that we are epistemically justified in believing that an ICT engineer has designed and produced an ICT that is capable of acting and satisfies the criteria for...