Classic serotonergic psychedelics are remarkable for their capacity to induce reversible alterations in consciousness of the self and the surroundings, mediated by agonism at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors. The subjective effects elicited by dissociative drugs acting as N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists (e.g. ketamine and phencyclidine) overlap in certain domains with those of serotonergic...
The weighted Phase Lag Index (wPLI) and the weighted Symbolic Mutual Information (wSMI) represent two robust and widely used methods for MEG/EEG functional connectivity estimation. Interestingly, both methods have been shown to detect relative alterations of brain functional connectivity in conditions associated with changes in the level of consciousness, such as following severe brain injury...
This paper formulates the action of psychedelics by integrating the free-energy principle and entropic brain hypothesis. We call this formulation relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) and the anarchic brain, founded on the principle that-via their entropic effect on spontaneous cortical activity-psychedelics work to relax the precision of high-level priors or beliefs, thereby liberating...
Wakefulness and sleep arise from global changes in brain physiology that may also govern the flow of neural activity between cortical regions responsible for perceptual processing versus planning and action. To test whether and how the sleep/wake cycle affects the overall propagation of neural activity in large-scale brain networks, we applied single-pulse electrical stimulation (SPES) in...
In this article, the origins of the cult of the ritual drink known as soma/haoma are explored. Various shortcomings of the main botanical candidates that have so far been proposed for this so-called “nectar of immortality” are assessed. Attention is brought to a variety of plants identified as soma/haoma in ancient Asian literature. Some of these plants are included in complex formulas and are...
This introduction to the special issue reviews research that supports the hypothesis that psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, were central features in the development of religion. The greater response of the human serotonergic system to psychedelics than is the case for chimpanzees’ serotonergic receptors indicates that these substances were environmental factors that affected hominin...
Since prehistory, shapeshifting has been a feature of several shamanic societies. Shapeshifting refers to a physical transformation of a shaman into an animal; and second, a shaman or other person behaving like a specific animal. This phenomenon has informed several mythological traditions. Prehistoric and extant shapeshifting provides a platform for understanding transformative elements of...
This thesis supposes that people gambling in Las Vegas are engaged in religious-like and transformative experiences, ideas, and behaviors. Those which are religious-like are categorized into separate groups. These separate groups are Magic, Charms and Jinxes, Ritual, Altered-States of Consciousness, and Divining each having a subsequent section in my thesis. The transformative experiences,...
Many archaeologists suggest that shamanic practices are ancient, starting at least 30,000 y ago (1⇓–3). As an analytical concept, anthropologists define shamans as religious practitioners who interact directly with the spirit world to help their people. Shamans in each culture have their own practices and are called by different names (e.g., chayanyi , curanderos , or vegetalistas ). Shamanic...
Objectives: The archaeological, ethno-historical and ethnographic evidence of the use of hallucinogenic substances in Mesoamerica is reviewed. Results: Hallucinogenic cactus, plants and mushrooms were used to induce altered states of consciousness in healing rituals and religious ceremonies. The Maya drank balché (a mixture of honey and extracts of Lonchocarpus) in group ceremonies to achieve...