Medical Hypotheses
December 1, 2008
Bruce G Charlton
12 citations
The most frequently discussed role for genetic engineering is in relation to medicine, and a second area which provokes discussion is the use of genetic engineering as an enhancement technology. But one neglected area is the potential use of genetic engineering to increase human spiritual and religious experience - or genospirituality. If technologies are devised which can conveniently and...
CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics
November 11, 2008
Torsten Passie, John H. Halpern, Dirk O. Stichtenoth et al.
459 citations
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was synthesized in 1938 and its psychoactive effects discovered in 1943. It was used during the 1950s and 1960s as an experimental drug in psychiatric research for producing so‐called “experimental psychosis” by altering neurotransmitter system and in psychotherapeutic procedures (“psycholytic” and “psychedelic” therapy). From the mid 1960s, it became an illegal...
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
October 2008
Fenghao Xu, Kazuo Uebaba, Hiroko Ogawa et al.
Ayurvedic oil-dripping treatment, Shirodhara, involves the use of medicated herbal sesame oils. In our previous reports, we found that Shirodhara with plain sesame oil induced anxiolysis and an altered state of consciousness (ASC) in healthy subjects. We studied the pharmaco-physio-psychologic effect of Shirodhara with medicated sesame oil including an essential oil from Lavendula angustifolia...
Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria
September 1, 2008
L. Caixeta
Some patients with schizophrenia present a related phenomenon in which they believe their limbs are under the control of an alien force (motor passivity). 5 There are some attempts to elucidate the nature and mechanism of passivity phenomena (experiences that one's conscious actions or thoughts have not been 'willed' by oneself) wich include the dysfunction of an internal self-monitoring system...
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
September 1, 2008
Nathan Porath
This article explores therapeutic shamanic sounds in relation to Orang Sakai ideas of (altered) consciousness. The argument given is that within a shamanic epistemology the very idea of producing sound involves an assumption of the material existence of non‐physical beings as sound‐makers. Such sounds are conceived to be as materially real as are ordinary physical sounds. The article argues...
Ethos
September 1, 2008
Joseph D. Calabrese
51 citations
AbstractEuro‐American theories of psychotherapeutic intervention focus on therapist behavior or the therapeutic relationship, conceived in dyadic terms. The cultural prototype is individualistic and rationalistic: a one‐to‐one conversation in which the patient discloses and discusses innermost feelings in regular office visits. This may be appropriate for modern Euro‐Americans. However,...
Journal of Neurotherapy
August 11, 2008
3 citations
ResultsThe Salvia-induced shifts in EEG compared to the baseline signature were striking.The most consistent effects observed were: In 6 of 8 participants, Alpha power (9-10 Hz) was significantly reduced (M ¼ 63%, p < .04,twotailed correlated samples) and alpha spindling disorganized.In 4 participants, abundant large amplitude slow cortical potentials (SCPs) were recorded at many cortical...
Epilepsy & Behavior
August 1, 2008
Mirja Johanson, Katja Valli, Antti Revonsuo et al.
19 citations
Epilepsy research suffers from a deficiency of systematic studies concerning the phenomenology of the contents of consciousness during seizures, partially because of the lack of suitable research methods. The Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI), a standardized, valid, and reliable questionnaire, was used here to study which dimensions of the contents of consciousness are distorted...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
July 17, 2008
Felix Hasler, Erich Studerus, Karl‐johan Lindner et al.
53 citations
Serotonin (5-HT) release is the primary pharmacological mechanism of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ‘ecstasy’) action in the primate brain. Dopamine release and direct stimulation of dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT 2A receptors also contributes to the overall action of MDMA. The role of 5-HT 1A receptors in the human psychopharmacology of MDMA, however, has not yet been elucidated. In...
Forensic Science International
July 4, 2008
Simon D. Brandt, Cláudia P.B. Martins, Sally Freeman et al.
10 citations
The psychoactive properties of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) 1a are known to induce altered states of consciousness in humans. This particular attribute attracts great interest from a variety of scientific and also clandestine communities. Our recent research has confirmed that DMT reacts with dichloromethane (DCM), either as a result of work-up or storage to give a quaternary N-chloromethyl...