Bridging the Gap ? Altered Thalamocortical Connectivity in Psychotic and Psychedelic States Mihai Avram, Helena Rogg, Alexandra Korda, Christina Andreou, Felix Müller and Stefan Borgwardt Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2021, Volume 12, Article 706017, 1-13. Doi : 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.706017 Psychiatry has a well-established tradition of comparing drug-induced experiences to psychotic symptoms, based on shared phenomena such as altered perceptions. The present review focuses on experiences induced by classic psychedelics, which are substances capable of eliciting powerful psychoactive effects, characterized by distortions/alterations of several neurocognitive processes (e.g., hallucinations). Herein we refer to such experiences as psychedelic states. Psychosis is a clinical syndrome defined by impaired reality testing, [...]
Lire la suiteParticipant Reports of Mindfulness, Posttraumatic Growth, and Social Connectedness in Psilocybin-Assisted Group Therapy : An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Gabrielle Agin-Liebes, Eve Ekman, Brian Anderson, Maxx Malloy, Alexandra Haas, and Josh Woolley Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2021, 1–28 Doi : 10.1177/002216878211022949 Abstract The primary objective of this qualitative study was to explore the therapeutic trajectories of individuals undergoing psilocybin-assisted group therapy. This interpretive phenomenological analysis focused on an enriched study sample of gay-identified cisgender men (n = 9) with human immunodeficiency virus diagnosed before 1996 and clinically significant trauma symptoms. Microphenomenological interviews were carried out 1 day after participants’ individual psilocybin sessions to elicit fine-grained descriptions of the [...]
Lire la suitePsychedelic perceptions: mental health service user attitudes to psilocybin therapy Kate Corrigan · Maeve Haran · Conor McCandliss · Roisin McManus · Shannon Cleary · Rebecca Trant · Yazeed Kelly · Kathryn Ledden · Gavin Rush · Veronica O’Keane · John R. Kelly Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -), 2021, 1-13. Doi : 10.1007/s11845-021-02668-2 Abstract Introduction : Despite the rapid advance of psychedelic science and possible translation of psychedelic therapy into the psychiatric clinic, very little is known about mental health service user attitudes. Objectives : To explore mental health service user attitudes to psychedelics and psilocybin therapy. Methods : A questionnaire capturing demographics, diagnoses, previous [...]
Lire la suitePost-acute psychological effects of classical serotonergic psychedelics: a systematic review and meta-analysis Simon B. Goldberg, Benjamin Shechet, Christopher R. Nicholas, Chi Wing Ng, Geetanjali Deole, Zhuofan Chen and Charles L. Raison Psychological Medicine, 2020, 1–12. doi : 10.1017/S003329172000389X Abstract Background. Scientific interest in the therapeutic effects of classical psychedelics has increased in the past two decades. The psychological effects of these substances outside the period of acute intoxication have not been fully characterized. This study aimed to: (1) quantify the effects of psilocybin, ayahuasca, and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on psychological outcomes in the post-acute period; (2) test moderators of these effects; and (3) evaluate [...]
Lire la suiteShamanism and psychedelics: A biogenetic structuralist paradigm of ecopsychology Michael Winkelman European Journal of Ecopsychology, 2013, 4, 90-115 Abstract Shamanism and psychedelics are central to understanding the evolutionary roots of ecopsychology and its basic principles. The ancient ritual roots of shamanism constituted the context within which psychedelic experiences contributed selective influences to the evolution of human neuropsychology. Both shamanic psychology and ecopsychology involve a neuroepistemology that reflects the neurotransmitter effects of psychedelics on cognition. Shamanism contributed to the development of our ecopsychology through influences on psychological, social and cognitive evolution. Shamanism embodies the concept of animism, the notion of the spiritual essence of all [...]
Lire la suiteWhat Can We Learn About Schizophrenia From Studying the Human Model, Drug-Induced Psychosis ? Robin M. Murray, Alessandra Paparelli, Paul D. Morrison, Arianna Marconi, and Marta Di Forti American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B, 2013, 162B, 661–670. Doi : 10.1002/ajmg.b.32177 When drug-induced psychoses were first identified in the mid- 20th century, schizophrenia was considered a discrete disease with a likely genetic cause. Consequently, drug-induced psychoses were not considered central to understanding schizophrenia as they were thought to be phenocopies rather than examples of the illness secondary to a particular known cause. However, now that we know that schizophrenia is a clinical syndrome with [...]
Lire la suiteThe Consciousness Research of Stanislav Grof : A Cosmic Portal Beyond Individuality By Richard Yensen, Ph.D. and Donna A. Dryer, M.D., M.P.H. ©1998 Richard Yensen & Donna Dryer I. Introduction Stanislav Grof began his research in Prague, Czechoslovakia, as a psychiatric resident, in the late 1950’s. His initial observations seemed to confirm and offer a laboratory proof for many of the basic tenets of Freudian psychoanalytic thought. At that time his conclusion was politically unsettling because psychoanalysis was repressed in the iron curtain countries. Forty years later the outcome of Grof’s continued research is a theoretical framework for understanding human consciousness. His theory has [...]
Lire la suiteClassic Hallucinogens and Mystical Experiences : Phenomenology and Neural Correlates Frederick S. Barrett, Roland R. Griffiths Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 2018, 36, 393–430. doi : 10.1007/7854_2017_474 Abstract This chapter begins with a brief review of descriptions and definitions of mystical-type experiences and the historical connection between classic hallucinogens and mystical experiences. The chapter then explores the empirical literature on experiences with classic hallucinogens in which claims about mystical or religious experiences have been made. A psychometrically validated questionnaire is described for the reliable measurement of mystical-type experiences occasioned by classic hallucinogens. Controlled laboratory studies show that under double-blind conditions that provide significant controls for [...]
Lire la suiteThe Varieties of the Psychedelic Experience: A Preliminary Study of the Association Between the Reported Subjective Effects and the Binding Affinity Profiles of Substituted Phenethylamines and Tryptamines Federico Zamberlan, Camila Sanz, Rocío Martínez Vivot, Carla Pallavicini, Fire Erowid, Earth Erowid and Enzo Tagliazucchi Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 2018, 12, 54. doi : 10.3389/fnint.2018.00054 Classic psychedelics are substances of paramount cultural and neuroscientific importance. A distinctive feature of psychedelic drugs is the wide range of potential subjective effects they can elicit, known to be deeply influenced by the internal state of the user (“set”) and the surroundings (“setting”). The observation of crosstolerance and a series [...]
Lire la suiteA phenomenology of subjectively relevant experiences induced by ayahuasca in Upper Amazon vegetalismo tourism Tom John Wolff, Simon Ruffell, Nigel Netzband and Torsten Passie Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 2018 Doi : 10.1556/2054.2019.007 Aims : This heuristic study reports observations on the phenomenology of ayahuasca experiences of nine foreign tourist participants of an ayahuasca retreat in Peru. Methods : Narrative interviews, reflecting individual experiences after ayahuasca “night ceremony,” have been analyzed by qualitative content analysis using a data-driven strategy in order to extract themes and categories inherent in the interviews. Previously, a demographic questionnaire was given. The dose–response connection was uncontrolled, which is typical for this [...]
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