Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been shown to effectively alleviate symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and improve neural functioning. However, it remains unclear whether both online and face-to-face MM can enhance cortical structure, a stable and reliable neural biomarker. This study included 100 IGD patients randomly assigned to three groups: face-to-face MM (31 participants), online...
NeuropsychopharmacologyOctober 1, 2025Andrew Jin Soo Byun, Harshawardhan U Deshpande, Jessi Stover et al.
Adolescent cannabinoid exposure has been implicated in enduring modifications to adult brain circuitry; however, well-controlled, systematic analyses investigating dose-dependent effects of chronic delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure on brain connectivity are lacking. It is hypothesized that large-scale intrinsic networks, such as default mode (DMN), central executive (CEN), and...
Dreaming is a universal yet poorly understood phenomenon. This thesis investigates the neural mechanisms of dream traits and states using multimodal neuroimaging, including structural and functional MRI, diffusion imaging, and simultaneous EEG/fMRI. By addressing methodological challenges and leveraging large-scale datasets, the studies provide novel insights into the neural correlates of dream...
Advanced meditation offers a powerful lens for investigating consciousness and for understanding how sustained training may contribute to human flourishing. In the spirit of neurophenomenology, we combine first-person reports with model-free empirical analyses and formal whole-brain modeling to investigate the mechanisms underlying advanced meditative states and minimal phenomenal experience...
Non-pharmacological therapies play a crucial role in managing non-communicable diseases, providing alternatives to conventional medical treatments.Non-pharmacological therapies include Yoga, which combines physical postures, breath control and meditation to promote both physical and mental wellbeing.However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of yoga, particularly...
INTRODUCTION Dysfunction in amygdala networks has been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Pharmacological treatments, such as esketamine and sertraline, are believed to exert their antidepressant effects by modulating amygdalar activity. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between changes in dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) within amygdala subregions and treatment...
Abstract The extent to which anatomical connectivity constrains pharmacologically altered brain dynamics remains poorly understood. Here, we combined psilocybin administration with a structurally informed effective-connectivity model to examine how structural connectivity shapes directed inter-regional influences across experiential contexts. Using dynamic causal modeling embedded in a...
Psychedelics such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide upset the brain networks involved in self-awareness and emotion and may lead to altered perception, cognition, and social behaviour, although unsupervised use is still dangerous due to their unpredictable psychological and physiological effects. These drugs cause emotions to be amplified, the ego to dissolve, and sensory vividness...
Oceanic states of consciousness-characterized by ego dissolution, unity, and timelessness-have long occupied a liminal space between psychopathology and transcendence. This paper explores these states through the interdisciplinary lens of existential neuroscience, integrating insights from psychoanalysis, existentialism, affective neuroscience, and psychedelic research. Starting with the...
Abstract Background The REBUS (RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics) and the anarchic brain model of psychedelic drug action proposes that confidence in beliefs – and thus expectations (priors) – are relaxed under these drugs. The brain makes inferences to minimize surprise, or discrepant expectations and outcomes (prediction error [PE]), and better model the world. We recently showed that the...