All articles tagged with #altered states
The article discusses various methods of inducing altered states of consciousness through breathwork, music, and visual stimuli, highlighting personal experiences, potential mechanisms, and the cultural and scientific context of these practices.
Scientists are now taking altered states of consciousness seriously, exploring experiences such as mystical, meditative, drug-induced, and near-death experiences. This shift in scientific approach is attributed to a new generation of researchers, societal openness, and personal experiences influencing scientists' career choices. Examples include neurological research into out-of-body experiences and the effects of meditation on brain structure and emotional control. The shift in scientific attitude towards these phenomena reflects a growing acceptance and exploration of extraordinary states of consciousness in mainstream research.
A study published in Communication Biology suggests that psychedelic substances like LSD and ketamine induce "hypersynchrony" in the brain, characterized by synchronized high-frequency oscillations across different regions. The research, conducted on awake rats, found that despite differences in individual neuronal firing rates, both types of psychedelics produced similar changes in collective brain activity. The synchronized oscillatory pattern observed during the psychedelic state could potentially serve as a research model for understanding aspects of psychotic disorders and the neural underpinnings of consciousness. However, caution is needed when comparing animal models to human experiences.