First, I describe the subjective phenomenology of acute psychedelic effects using the best available data. Next, I review late 19th-century and early 20th-century theories-model psychoses theory, filtration theory, and psychoanalytic theory-and highlight their shared features.

In this article I review theories of psychedelic drug effects and highlight key concepts which have endured over the last 125 years of psychedelic science. First, I describe the subjective phenomenology of acute psychedelic effects using the best available data.

May 5, 2024 · Personality theories in psychology aim to define and explain the consistent patterns of behavior, thinking, and feeling that characterizes individuals. Researchers in this field strive to elucidate how personality develops and how it influences behavior.

Objective evidence that psychedelics produce classic mystical experiences, coupled with the finding that hallucinatory experiences can be induced by many non-drug mechanisms, illustrates the need for a common model of visionary effects.

Evolutionary psychology perspectives on ritual, shamanism and psychedelics provides bases for inferences regarding psychedelics’ likely roles in hominin evolution as exogenous neurotransmitter sources through their effects in selection for innate dispositions for …

Jun 1, 2024 · Psychedelics enhance cognition, stimulate creativity, and trigger mystical states of consciousness. Co-written with Clark Maxon. A theory proposed in 1992 by American ethnobotanist Terence McKenna...

One theory that describes how psychedelics influence brain activity is the “entropic brain theory” (EBT), which attempts to understand conscious states—normal and psychedelic—in terms of “brain entropy.”

We briefly review 3 popular theories or models of this kind describing the proposed role of psychedelics and noting claims portending that these theories or models may explain how phenomenal consciousness arises from the brain.

Jan 1, 2025 · Studies are shedding light on how psychedelics influence neural connections associated with people’s sense of identity and memory to help them overcome maladaptive behaviors. To increase research on psychedelics, scientists are developing multiple study designs and adapting how they recruit, include, and exclude study participants.

5 days ago · According to this theory, the phenomenological trajectory of a psychedelic experience might mimic the trajectory of naturally occurring psychedelic-like (eg spiritual, psychotic, and near-death ...