Nature Reviews Neurology
March 1, 2024
Javier Pagonabarraga, Helena Bejr-Kasem, Saul Martinez-Horta et al.
Parkinson disease (PD) psychosis (PDP) is a spectrum of illusions, hallucinations and delusions that are associated with PD throughout its disease course. Psychotic phenomena can manifest from the earliest stages of PD and might follow a continuum from minor hallucinations to structured hallucinations and delusions. Initially, PDP was considered to be a complication associated with dopaminergic...
Pharmacological Research
March 1, 2024
Sandra Ledesma-Corvi, Jordi Jornet-Plaza, Laura Gálvez-melero et al.
22 citations
There is an urgent need for novel fast-acting antidepressants for adolescent treatment-resistant depression and/or suicidal risk, since the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors that are clinically approved for that age (i.e., fluoxetine or escitalopram) take weeks to work. In this context, one of the main research lines of our group is to characterize at the preclinical level novel...
Sleep Science
February 29, 2024
Carlo Lazzari, Marco Rabottini
Dear Editor, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online defines dreams as a succession of ideas, pictures, or feelings that happen while people sleep ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dream ). The Sleep Foundation describes a dream as ideas or images that come to mind while people are asleep; a dream may occur at any sleep stage, but rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is when dreams tend to...
Journal of Contemplative Studies
February 29, 2024
Peter D. Hershock
The religious or spiritual value of contemplative practices and the use of psychedelics is not intrinsic to experiences obtained through them and is instead relational—a function of how they alter consciousness. In support of that claim, I first present a nonreductive, nondualist Buddhist account of consciousness that calls critically into question the merits of both physicalist and...
Cureus
February 26, 2024
Yatika Chadha, Ragini Patil, Saket Toshniwal et al.
2 citations
Trance and possession disorder (TPD) is an intriguing and complex phenomenon in the realm of psychology and psychiatry. Trance is characterized by a state of temporary marked alteration in the state of consciousness without replacement by an alternate identity, with either a narrowing of awareness of immediate surroundings or behaviors that are beyond one's control. Possession is defined as an...
Research Square
February 23, 2024
Ari Brouwer, Joshua K. Brown, Earth Erowid et al.
5 citations
preprint
Abstract Psychedelic therapy has the potential to become a revolutionary and transdiagnostic mental health treatment, yielding enduring benefits that are often attributed to the experiences that coincide with peak psychedelic effects. However, there may be an underrecognized temporal structure to this process that helps explain why psychedelic and related altered states of consciousness can...
Scientific Reports
February 19, 2024
Rosalind McAlpine, Matthew D. Sacchet, Otto Simonsson et al.
13 citations
Psychedelic substances induce profound alterations in consciousness. Careful preparation is therefore essential to limit adverse reactions, enhance therapeutic benefits, and maintain user safety. This paper describes the development of a self-directed, digital intervention for psychedelic preparation. Drawing on elements from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for developing...
Sleep Medicine Reviews
February 15, 2024
Leila Salvesen, Elena Capriglia, Martin Dresler et al.
Sleep is typically considered a state of disconnection from the environment, yet instances of external sensory stimuli influencing dreams have been reported for centuries. Explaining this phenomenon could provide valuable insight into dreams' generative and functional mechanisms, the factors that promote sleep continuity, and the processes that underlie conscious awareness. Moreover, harnessing...
Cahiers francophones de soins palliatifs
February 14, 2024
Houman Farzin
Patients with serious illnesses like advanced cancer often experience existential and psychospiritual distress. Alleviating this form of pain and suffering has proven to be very challenging using conventional treatments. Psilocybin-assisted therapy (PAT) employs the psychoactive effects of psilocybin as a catalyst for a psychotherapeutic process grounded in indigenous traditions and within the...
Frontiers in Psychology
February 14, 2024
Caspar Montgomery, Timo Torsten Schmidt, Ioanna Amaya
13 citations
Flicker light stimulation (FLS) is a non-pharmacological method of inducing altered states of consciousness (ASCs), producing hallucination-like phenomena as well as effects extending beyond the visual modality, including emotional effects. Research into the psychological and neural mechanisms of FLS is still in its infancy, but can be informed by research into other methods of inducing ASCs....