N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a fast-acting psychedelic drug that induces a radical reorganization of conscious contents and brain dynamics. However, our understanding of how brain dynamics support psychedelic-induced conscious states remains unclear. We therefore present a repeated-measures dose-dependent study of the subjective and neural dynamics induced through DMT under naturalistic...
Consciousness is fundamentally a process of selection, a continuous "collapse" from a manifold of potential states into a singular, coherent narrative. This article introduces the Ze formalism, a theoretical framework that models this process through a cognitive localization parameter, Γ_Ze. We posit that the critical distinction between wakefulness and sleep is not the presence of...
The use of supportive touch in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) and MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) presents unique ethical challenges and opportunities. While touch can be a valuable component of treatment, its implementation requires careful consideration due to the altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelics and the potential for boundary violations. This paper addresses a...
January 9, 2026Yvain Longaretti, Abel Rassat, Ana Maria Cebolla Alvarez et al.
preprint
Adaptability and flexible error correction are essential to interact with dynamic environments. However, previously learned automatic motor patterns can hinder performance under altered task demands, producing a “habit lag.” Mirror-reversal tasks provide a model for studying de novo motor learning, requiring suppression of prior motor plans and the formation of new mappings. Additionally,...
This article proposes a dual-self states framework to demonstrate how phenomenology and neuroscience of embodied and altered states of consciousness illuminate the nature of consciousness and the sense of self. It argues that consciousness is best conceived as dynamic configurations of a reflective and an experiential self state, rather than as static, taxonomic layers of self. The reflective...
January 9, 2026José Mostacero-León, Jesús Manuel Charcape Ravelo, Anthony Jordan de la Cruz Castillo et al.
The research highlights the fundamental role of magical-religious practices in the preservation, use, and transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge in Peru. These practices, deeply rooted in the Andean-Amazonian worldview, manifest themselves through the symbolic and therapeutic use of sacred plants, contributing to the continuity of the cultural and spiritual identities of indigenous...
Abstract The emergence of non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens signals a profound philosophical and therapeutic chasm in the discourse surrounding psychedelic medicine. Unlike psychedelic-assisted therapy, which emphasizes subjective experience as central to healing, psychoplastogens are framed as purely neuroplasticity-driven treatments, aiming to repair brain circuits without inducing altered...
In this dissertation, I address the question of how ketamine has been taken up as a source of hope in the treatment of mental health conditions, addiction, and chronic physical pain. Known as a “dissociative anesthetic” for its consciousness-altering properties, the question of hope is relevant to ketamine because the drug has assumed multiple identities since it was first synthesized from...
This article examines the persistence of ritual drumming in the Middle Nile Valley through a comparative analysis of Napatan and Meroitic iconography and contemporary Sudanese Sufi practice. It focuses on the ritual drum known as Al-Nūba and explores whether its continued presence reflects functional continuity rather than direct historical transmission. Drawing on Jan Assmann’s concept of...
This thesis explores the soul-body dynamic and motherhood in seventeenth-century literature. The topics examined in each chapter demonstrate the spiritual importance of the womb in particular across a range of literary texts from the period. I analyse both male-authored and female-authored texts that discuss women’s bodies, and I support each argument by referencing theological and medical...