Psychedelics, acting primarily through 5-HT2A receptor binding and modulation of networks such as the default mode network (DMN), can induce shifts in self-perception, cognition, and emotion by promoting neuroplasticity and altering entrenched thought patterns. The biomedical model, emphasizing measurable neurochemical processes, often attempts to extract these neuroplastic benefits while...
This article examines the integration of mysticism, spirituality, Sufism, and neurotheology as a means to bridge the spiritual and biological dimensions of human religious experience. Mysticism is interpreted as the pinnacle of transrational religious experience, while spirituality is viewed as a progressive development of ethical and inner consciousness. Sufism, as the mystical path of Islam,...
iScienceNovember 21, 2025Yuhua Yu, Quentin Raffaelli, Delaney Freveletti et al.
Human thoughts often arise unprompted, forming a stream of consciousness. Despite their ubiquity, it remains unknown how the brain supports unprompted thoughts as an integrated experience with rich content and dynamics. Applying latent state modeling to fMRI data collected while individuals spoke aloud their thoughts, we identified recurring brain states linked to moment-to-moment thought...
medRxivNovember 20, 2025Qing Wang, Lizhao Du, Jialing Sheng et al.
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Whether and how meditation benefits severe psychosis over clinically meaningful timescales remains unclear. We embedded longitudinal neuroimaging in an eight-month, parallel group randomized clinical trial (ChiCTR1800014913) of male inpatients (n=64) with schizophrenia receiving daily clinician-guided meditation plus rehabilitation versus rehabilitation alone. Meditation improved the symptoms...
Abstract Mindfulness training (MT) and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) are widely used stress-reduction practices, yet their neurochemical specificity remains almost unexplored. In a randomized, pre–post study, 30 healthy right-handed female speech-language therapy students were assigned to six weeks of MT or PMR. Short-echo time single-voxel H 1 -MRS (3T PRESS, TE ≈ 35 ms) and structural...
This study aims to explore the relationship between the antidepressant effects of drugs (esketamine combined with sertraline) and brain function changes in patients with major depressive disorder. A total of 27 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 27 healthy individuals were included in the study. All MDD patients received a 2-week course of intravenous esketamine infusion (0.25...
Religious and spiritual (R/S) practices and experiences invoke measurable neurocognitive processes that enhance resilience and recovery from affective disorders. Converging evidence from functional neuroanatomy and network studies demonstrate R/S practices recruit brain networks that regulate self-referential processing, salience attribution, executive control, reward, and social bonding....
Peoples and Rundel argue that oceanic experiences in psychedelic-assisted treatment need not indicate regression but may reflect expansions of consciousness. I respond by examining how the self enables survival yet contributes to suffering, distinguishing expanded states from perspective, and proposing perspective as the hinge that transforms transient ego-dissolution into lasting growth. I...
Dissociation is a psychological response to stress that impairs mental integration, identity, and consciousness and manifests itself in the form of detachment and compartmentalization. Such symptoms are common in psychiatric disorders and reflect altered brain connectivity. In this study, EEG connectivity at rest, before and after activation of the attachment system, was analysed in relation to...
El Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT) constituye un desafío clínico significativo debido a las altas tasas de resistencia a la farmacoterapia convencional y el abandono de las terapias tradicionales. Ante este escenario, el actual "renacimiento psicodélico" propone el uso controlado de sustancias psicoactivas como herramientas para potenciar el procesamiento del trauma. El objetivo de...