Along with its rapid therapeutic benefits, ketamine induces transient experience of dissociation during administration. Given the suggested association between ketamine-induced dissociation and treatment response, understanding the neural correlates of dissociation would help to elucidate its therapeutic mechanism. The posteromedial cortex (PMC) has been reported to play a vital role in the...
Understanding how a simple endogenous tryptamine could occasion profound alterations in perception and self-modeling remains a key challenge for neuroscience. We advance the Birth Echo Hypothesis (BEH) : during a narrowly defined perinatal window (≈ −2 to +24 h around delivery), a convergence of hypoxic–hypercapnic stress, maximal sensory novelty, and a poly-neuromodulatory milieu...
Background: 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), also officially known as Mebufotenin, is a naturally occurring serotonergic psychedelic alkaloid found in the venom of the Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius) and various plant species. Areas of Uncertainty: Trace levels of 5-MeO-DMT may be produced endogenously in humans, but its physiological role remains unclear. Safety profiles...
Background: N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a naturally-occurring serotonergic psychedelic found in natural plants around the globe. As the main psychoactive component in ayahuasca, which also contains monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, DMT has been consumed as plant-based brew by indigenous peoples for centuries. Further research is required to delineate the therapeutic utility of DMT.Areas...
The present study addresses the problem of consciousness from the perspective of its phenomenological content (awareness). It examines the main contemporary theories concerning the neural correlates of consciousness, focusing on the Global Neuronal Workspace Model (GNWM) and the Higher-Order Theory (HOT). While the GNWM proposes that conscious access arises from the propagation of sensory...
Various forms of mental training have been shown to improve performance on cognitively demanding tasks. Individuals trained in meditative practices, for example, show generalized improvements on a variety of tasks assessing attentional performance. A central claim of this training, derived from contemplative traditions, posits that improved attentional performance is accompanied by subjective...
Abstract Quantifying the complexity of neural activity has provided fundamental insights into cognition, consciousness, and clinical conditions. However, the most widely used approach to estimate the complexity of neural dynamics, Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZ), has fundamental limitations that substantially restrict its domain of applicability. In this article we leverage the information-theoretic...