N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) belongs to a class of drugs known as serotonergic psychedelics, which produce profound shifts in consciousness by dramatically altering perception and causing hallucinatory phenomena. In humans, DMT has a rapid onset and the effects, which include feelings of dissociation from external reality, entering into an ‘otherworldly dimension’, and intense internal visual...
Hallucinogens are a broad category of substances encompassing drugs with diverse pharmacological, phenomenological, and adverse effects. In this chapter, the focus is on disorders caused by and exacerbated by two classes of hallucinogens. These are classic psychedelics (drugs including LSD and psilocybin that exert subjective effects principally by 5HT_2A agonism) and the substituted...
Hypnosis has been shown to be of clinical utility; however, its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate altered brain dynamics during the non-ordinary state of consciousness induced by hypnosis. We studied high-density EEG in 9 healthy participants during eyes-closed wakefulness and during hypnosis, induced by a muscle relaxation and eyes fixation procedure....
In Greek mythology, the Muses (Mousikē) is the goddess of music and poetry. Muses provided us meaningful gifts, which are Meditation, music and medicine (three M’s). Mindfulness meditation brings focusing on our existence just now. Solfeggio frequency music may give bring relaxing effect, where 528Hz sound has been known for possible benefit for health. Medicine shows each pharmacokinetics with...
Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been known for millennia and studied rigorously for the past 50 years.In that time, scholars have developed comprehensive tabulations of NDEs' commonly associated physical circumstances, phenomenological features, and aftereffects, as well as quantitative scales to measure the occurrence and depth of NDEs.Yet despite this extensive research literature, no one...
Some scholars concluded that mind-body theories had come to an impasse. Trying to include mental phenomenon addressed in Buddhism and other value-seeking philosophies in eastern cultures, this thesis provides a solution based on a recognition of a wider range of the mental phenomena and the differences of their qualities. Through a “census” of most types and constitutes of mental phenomena and...
Empathy is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that plays a crucial role in human social interactions. Recent developments in social neuroscience have provided valuable insights into the neural underpinnings and bodily mechanisms underlying empathy. This methodology often prioritizes precision, replicability, internal validity, and confound control. However, fully understanding the complexity...
Meditation is generally described as being in the present moment or being alert in the present moment, instead of constantly struggling to change or to become. Meditation is an essential part of Yoga philosophy and the seventh limb of Astanga Yoga described by sage Patanjali in the ancient text Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Yoga including meditation, is an ancient technique invented to unite the...
As we know, the publication of the translation of W. James’ “The Varieties of Religious Experience” in 1910 gave rise to a well-known discussion that took place in the pages of the journal “Questions of Philosophy and Psychology”. However, the fact that James’s concept has been critically comprehended in the works of some academic theologians, such as M. Tareev, P. Minin, A. Tuberovsky, still...
A dual focus methodology combining Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) was utilised to explore both language and the subjective embodied experience of psychosis. Despite arguments that combining IPA and FDA creates epistemological/ontological conflicts due to the dissonant theoretical underpinnings, adoption of a critical realist position...