e. , emotions)Understanding symbolic meaningThese models feature nonlinear, nonlocal, nonstationary mathematics developed incrementally over the past 65 years, primarily by Stephen Grossberg. URT is comprehensively described in Grossberg's 2021 monograph Conscious Mind, Resonant Brain (CMRB), the reference for all assertions in this reply unless otherwise specified. URT is complex. CMRB is more...
Since the 2000s, an increasing number of new psychoactive substances (NPS) have appeared on the drug market. Arylcyclohexylamine (ACH) compounds such as ketamine, phencyclidine and eticyclidine derivatives are of particular concern, given their rapidly increasing use and the absence of detailed toxicity data. First used mainly for their pharmacological properties in anesthesia, their...
In this paper the author provides a personal perspective on the theme of women in parapsychology. She reflects on her journey in academia, from being the first in her farming family to go to university, to joining the University of Edinburgh in 1986 as Research Assistant to the first Koestler Professor Robert Morris, to her current position as the second holder of the Koestler Chair of...
The competence of humans to create and apply constructs of reality far exceeds that of any other animal species. Their ability to consciously manipulate such models seems unique, but it remains unknown how these abilities were initially acquired and then developed. Most individuals hold strong, culturally-anchored beliefs that their particular reality is true, a viewpoint challenged by the...
Ingestion of Amanita muscaria mushrooms results in transient central nervous system excitation and depression mediated by its components, ibotenic acid and muscimol. The mushroom is distributed worldwide and ingestions occur with some frequency. Although these ingestions have traditionally been considered benign, serious complications can occur. We present 2 cases of serious toxicity, including...
Abstract:This essay promotes the idea that current cognitive models of mind wandering and inner speech can help us better understanding the phenomenological constituents of what Joyce calls “the mystery of the conscious” as simulated by modernist literary investigations. In our essay, we rework a model of perceptual decoupling (how attention disengages from perception) and peripheral awareness...
Human ArenasDecember 1, 2022Rosa Traversa1 citation
Death seems still to be a taboo in contemporary society, and in Psychology as well. Crucial debates around the end of life are emerging in a variety of clinical, cultural, and philosophical realms in relation to the meaning of consciousness and near-death experiences. After the advent of quantum physics, the very notion of ‘evidence-based science’ has profoundly changed and new markers on the...
The impact of spirituality on health, personality and anxiety is a common topic of research in the psychology of religion. For the case of Buddhism, the relation between health and meditation has been extensively studied, while research of Buddhism and personality is not a common topic in the field. The current article aims to analyze whether Tibetan Buddhism, as a particular religious...
We read with interest the study of ketamine psychedelic and analgesic effects by Olofsen et al.1 and the accompanying editorial by Mashour.2 In both articles, the authors refer to the “dissociative” effects of ketamine. Corssen and Domino3 originally used the term “dissociative” in 1966 to describe “patients and subjects who, during recovery from CI-581 [ketamine], felt as though they were in...
Information on time trends in use of different plant-based hallucinogens is lacking. The current study used nationally representative U.S. data to assess overall and age-specific time trends in the prevalence of lifetime and 12-month use of plant-based hallucinogens and dissociative agents. Participants were respondents aged ≥ 12 years (N = 1,006,051) from the National Survey on Drug Use and...