PsychiatrikiJuly 2, 2025Dimitrios Sakellion, Shokhrukh Sultanov, Dilmurad Irgashev et al.
Hypnosis is an externally induced alteration in consciousness as a result of suggestion. Hypnotherapy, also called clinical hypnosis, is the use of hypnosis as psychological treatment, either brief or long-term psychotherapy, for alleviating pain, inducing habit modification, and treating a range of physical and mental health problems, such as psychosomatic diseases, mood and anxiety disorders,...
Hypnosis is widely used in pain management. This technique involves the induction of a hypnotic trance, which is a state of consciousness distinct from normal waking state (critical consciousness). In this altered state, individuals become more receptive to the hypnotherapist's suggestions, which can influence their perception, especially of pain. However, hypnotic trance is a fluctuating state...
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a potent endogenous psychedelic, evokes rapid and immersive shifts in consciousness that challenge conventional neurocognitive models. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG)-fMRI studies suggest that these altered states are not chaotic but patterned, marked by a disruption of the default mode network (DMN), an increase in...
Psychoactive substances are compounds that can influence perception, consciousness, cognition, and emotions. The psychoactive substances caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, and psilocybin all originate from natural sources and can be used without complex processing or synthesis. Their natural availability has contributed to a long-standing history of human use and cultural significance. Caffeine and...
Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are potent agonists of CB1 and CB2 receptors, with affinities approximately 100 times greater than that of natural cannabis. This increased potency is associated with severe clinical outcomes, including psychosis, dependence, and various autonomic disturbances, such as seizures and rhabdomyolysis. The objective of this study was to synthesize the existing literature...
During vocalization, mismatches between expected and perceived auditory feedback are processed rapidly and automatically, suggesting that feedback control of vocalization operates unconsciously. However, whether consciousness modulates speech feedback control remains little studied. To address this question, we concurrently measured behavioral vocal responses and electroencephalography (EEG) in...
In the spiritual system of the Turkic peoples, pre-Islamic belief systems—particularly the shamanic tradition and the associated phenomenon of altered states of consciousness—occupy a special place. These states represent a transformative spiritual experience that enables individuals to perceive reality in a unique way and access the deeper layers of Turkic culture and worldview. In ancient...
This research article examines the profound implications of Neuralink’s brain-computer interface (BCI) technology on religious and psychological experiences. As BCIs advance toward direct neural interfacing, they present unprecedented opportunities and challenges for human spirituality, cognition, and self-understanding. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, we investigate the potential for...
WThis paper extends the concept of literary tzimtzum from Hasidic mystical pedagogy to medical hermeneutics, proposing that the patient-physician encounter can be understood through the lens of parabolic interpretation. Drawing on the Alter Rebbe's theory of meshalim as forms of divine contraction that make infinite meaning accessible to finite consciousness [1], this study argues that patients...
Abstract Serotonergic psychedelics alter self-boundaries and can induce out-of-body experiences (OBEs)—the sense of being located outside one’s physical body. While OBEs also occur in clinical conditions and can be experimentally induced, their neural basis under psychedelics remains underexplored. In an open-label, baseline-controlled MRI study of 62 healthy adults administered psilocybin, we...