Abstract This paper provides a method- and theory-focused assessment of religious behavior based on cross-cultural research that provides an empirically derived model as a basis for making inferences about ritual practices in the past through an ethnological analogy. A review of previous research provides an etic typology of religious practitioners and identifies their characteristics,...
Статья посвящена рассмотрению основных подходов к изучению музыки в шаманизме, сложившихся и функционирующих в современной антропологии и музыковедении. Автор характеризует различные направления в каждом из них, приводя в качестве примеров и анализируя наиболее показательные труды. Литература (источники и исследования) подобрана таким образом, чтобы позволить читателю самостоятельно расширить...
Intravenous ketamine is an effective treatment of bipolar depression. One of its most important side-effects is a transient altered state of consciousness commonly referred to as dissociation. These states can be anxiety-provoking, distressing and even treatment-limiting, warranting research into mitigation strategies. In this article, we present two cases that demonstrate the potential of...
Criticality has been conjectured as an integral part of neuronal network dynamics. Operating at a critical threshold requires precise parameter tuning and a corresponding mechanism remains an open question. Recent studies have suggested that topological features observed in brain networks give rise to a Griffiths phase, leading to power-laws in brain activity dynamics and the operational...
Significance Psychedelic compounds, such as psilocybin, have beneficial actions in several psychiatric diseases. They also produce strong alterations of consciousness, which may be a barrier to their widespread use. We found that psilocybin has fast-acting antidepressant-like properties in mice. Using multiple assays of hedonic behavior and an antagonist of prohallucinatory 5-HT2A receptors, we...
This article considers the relationship between perception, language and embodiment in altered or expanded states of consciousness in queer-feminist writing that turns text into performance. How might these processes of perception—often ineffable, numinous, non-discursive and/or irrational, be articulated through language, narrative or discourse? What forms of knowledge production might these...
Several measures have been designed to assess subjective experiences induced by psychedelic substances and other mind-altering drugs or non-pharmacological methods. Recently, two self-report questionnaires have been introduced to measure acute adverse effects following psilocybin ingestion and the phenomenon of ego-dissolution associated with psychedelic use, respectively. The 26-item...
Background: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) is used both recreationally and therapeutically. Little is known about the factors influencing inter- and intra-individual differences in the acute response to MDMA. Effects of other psychoactive substances have been shown to be critically influenced by personality traits and mood state before intake. Methods: We pooled data from...
This article addresses the little-studied area of the subjective experience of meditation through the analysis of the daily meditation diary of an experienced meditator over 2 months during the covid-19 lockdown in England in early 2020. The participant, who began meditating over 40 years ago, practised an open monitoring style of meditation for 90 minutes every day followed by 30-minutes of...
Psychedelics have been recognized as model interventions for studying altered states of consciousness. However, few empirical studies of the shamanic state of consciousness, which is anecdotally similar to the psychedelic state, exist. We investigated the neural correlates of shamanic trance using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in 24 shamanic practitioners and 24 healthy controls...