Consciousness alterations occur across various states, encompassing changes in both arousal and awareness. The contributions of thalamic nuclei of consciousness remain incompletely understood. We analyzed fMRI data across general anesthesia (propofol N = 12, sevoflurane N = 12), disorders of consciousness (DoC) (minimally conscious state N = 9, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome N = 9), and...
A scientific exploration of consciousness through the lens of subjective experience by leading interdisciplinary scholars. This volume brings together international scholars from neuroscience, mathematics, physics, neurophenomenology, psychology, cognitive sciences, philosophy, and the study of Indian and Buddhist contemplative traditions. The book explores fundamental questions such as: Is...
elucidate the brain dynamics of non-ordinary experiences like "non-duality" and "egodissolution" by combining phenomenological assessment with modern brain imaging technology.In this chapter, I describe (1) typical features of mystical experiences (see glossary);(2) situations, personality traits, and methods that facilitate their occurrence; and (3) recent findings regarding their pos si ble...
The chapter you are about to read is much about how other minds played a role in shaping my views and theories about consciousness.It only seemed natu ral to me from the outset that the phenomenology of subjective experience should play a pivotal role in a scientific theory of consciousness.But my intuitions found firmer methodological ground in my brief yet meaningful, and retrospectively...
measures like accuracy and reaction time and move toward reports about experience that are simple but not necessarily objectively verifiable as accurate.I will discuss studies demonstrating the effect of attention on visual awareness and how meditation practice could influence our perceptual experience.Fi nally, I will discuss the importance of control and prediction and how a hierarchical...
The purpose of this study was to compare mindfulness meditation-based interventions (MMBIs) and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies (PAP) in PTSD and examine altered-state mediators as a shared mechanism. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published through January 2024. Trials reporting...
Encounters with seemingly autonomous non-human entities are among the most striking and consistently reported phenomena associated with psychedelic states, particularly those induced by N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In contemporary discourse, these encounters are frequently described through the archetype of the “machine elf,” a term popularized by ethnobotanist Terence McKenna in the late...
Pre-attentive information processing deficits are associated with poor outcomes in schizophrenia. The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN), observed when an auditory signal changes, is reduced in schizophrenia, related to glutamatergic dysfunction and is considered a response biomarker. We hypothesized that glycine, an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) coagonist, could reverse the...
Individual variability in psilocybin response is a major challenge for psychedelic-assisted therapy, with structural brain features potentially serving as predictive biomarkers. (Lewis et al. Biomedicines 8(2):34 2020) reported that rostral anterior cingulate cortex thickness predicted emotional experiences under psilocybin, suggesting cortical morphometry as a marker of psychedelic...
Johdanto BMGIM (Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music), josta käytetään myös nimitystä GIM-terapia, on musiikin kuunteluun ja mielikuvatyöskentelyyn pohjautuva musiikkipsykoterapiamenetelmä, jonka on kehitellyt Yhdysvalloissa 1970-luvulla Helen Lindquist Bonny.GIM-terapiassa asiakas kuuntelee virittäytymisen myötä saavutetussa muuntuneessa tietoisuuden tilassa (ASC, altered state of...