The mind-wandering state illustrates two fundamental aspects of consciousness: its generative nature, which is reflected by the stimulus-independent content of thought that occurs when our minds wander; and metacognition, the unique capacity of the mind to reflect and understand itself. Self-generated thought, which allows us to consider people and events that are not present in the immediate...
Mysticism and schizophrenia are different categories of human existence and experience. Nonetheless, they exhibit important phenomenological affinities, which, however, remain largely unaddressed. In this study, we explore structural analogies between key features of mysticism and major clinical-phenomenological aspects of the schizophrenia spectrum disorders-i.e. attitudes, the nature of...
PLoS GeneticsJune 14, 2016Rachel Bachner-Melman, Christian Dina, Ada H Zohar et al.
Dancing, which is integrally related to music, likely has its origins close to the birth of Homo sapiens, and throughout our history, dancing has been universally practiced in all societies. We hypothesized that there are differences among individuals in aptitude, propensity, and need for dancing that may partially be based on differences in common genetic polymorphisms. Identifying such...
In order to enhance our understanding of the nature of poker-machine problem-gambling, a community sample of 37 poker-machine gamblers (M age = 32 years, M PGSI = 5; PGSI = Problem Gambling Severity Index) were assessed for urge to gamble (responses on a visual analogue scale) and altered state of consciousness (assessed by the Altered State of Awareness dimension of the Phenomenology of...
WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) include synthetic drugs mimicking the effects of illicit drugs, e.g. synthetic cannabinoids, and herbs such as Salvia divinorum. NPS are substances that can trigger hallucinations and other effects altering the mind, and are currently uncontrolled by the United Nations' 1961 Narcotic Drugs/1971 Psychotropic Substances...
This article deals with the connections between the assimilation of certain shamanic practices related to Romantic inspiration in English literature. The interest in the world of altered states of consciousness as a manifestation of the sacred is typical among Romantic writers in nineteenth-century England. These writers in fact sought the manifestation of the world of dreams by means of...
Humans have employed an incredible variety of plant-derived substances over the millennia in order to alter consciousness and perception. Among the innumerable narcotics, analgesics, 'ordeal' drugs, and other psychoactive substances discovered and used in ritualistic contexts by cultures around the world, one class in particular stands out not only for its radical psychological effects, but...
Healing methods based on the altered states of consciousness common to spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific explanations based on classical physics and classical cognition-denoted here as 'perceptualcognitive' (characteristic of the ordinary state of consciousness) information processing.A second foundation of knowledge-named as 'nonlocal-intuitive' approach-with another way...
Meditation and hypnosis both aim to facilitate cognitive-emotional flexibility, i.e., the "de-automatization" of thought and behavior. However, little research or theory has addressed how internal thought patterns might change after such interventions, even though alterations in the internal flow of consciousness may precede externally observable changes in behavior. This chapter outlines three...
Full text (opens in new tab)Meditation-mindfulness-contemplationNeuroscience-q-bio.nc-brain-scienceCognitive-flexibility-neuroplasticity-mental-adaptabilityHypnotherapy-hypnosis-trance-states
Examining task-free functional connectivity (FC) in the human brain offers insights on how spontaneous integration and segregation of information relate to human cognition, and how this organization may be altered in different conditions, and neurological disorders. This is particularly relevant for patients in disorders of consciousness (DOC) following severe acquired brain damage and coma,...