OPEN Foundation

Cacti / Mescaline

Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, Consciousness, DMT, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Papers, Publications, Religious studies, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

Renewed research with entheogens (psychedelic substances) has been able to facilitate the occurrence of mystical forms of consciousness in healthy volunteers with a high degree of reliability. This article explores the potential significance of this development for religious scholars, especially those interested in the study of mysticism. The definition of “mystical consciousness” employed in this research is presented and differentiated from visionary/archetypal and other types of alternative mental states. The ways in which entheogens may be employed with skill and maximum safety are discussed. Implications for clarifying confusion in the study of mysticism are considered, along with suggestions for future religious research on this frontier of knowledge.

Richards, W.  A. (2014). Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 652-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12108
Link to full text

Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience

August 26, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Mystical experiences, Neuroscience, Papers, Phenomenology, Psychology, Publications, Religious studies, Spirituality / By /

Abstract

Entheogens or psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are associated with mystical states of experience. Drug laws currently limit research, but important new work is under way at major biomedical research facilities showing that entheogens reliably occasion mystical experiences and thereby allow research into brain states during these experiences. Are drug-occasioned mystical experiences neurologically the same as more traditional mystical states? Are there phenomenological and theological differences? As this research goes forward and the public becomes more widely aware of its achievements, religious scholars and experts in science and religion will be called upon to interpret the philosophical and theological presuppositions that underpin this research and the significance of the findings that flow from it.

Cole-Turner, R. (2014). Entheogens, Mysticism, and Neuroscience. Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 49(3), 642-651. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12110
Link to full text

Does the Nervous System Have an Intrinsic Archaic Language? Entoptic Images and Phosphenes

August 2, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, DMT, Ethnobotany, Iboga / Ibogaine, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other disciplines, Other subjects, Papers, Publications, Religious studies, Salvia / Salvinorin A / By /

Abstract

Psychoactive plants have been consumed by many cultures, cults and groups during religious rituals and ceremonies for centuries and they have been influential on the eruption of the many images, secret and religious symbols, esoteric geometrical shapes, archetypes, religious figures, philosophy of religions since the dawn of Homo sapiens. Some of the psychoactive plants used for religious purposes were; narcotic analgesics (opium), THC (cannabis), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline (peyote), ibogaine (Tabernanthe iboga), DMT (Ayahuasca and phalaris species), peganum harmala, bufotenin, muscimol (Amanita muscaria), Thujone (Absinthe, Arthemisia absinthium), ephedra, mandragora, star lotus, salvia divinorum etc. An important property of these natural chemicals is to induce the human psyche to perceive some optical forms and shapes, which are existent in the subconscious and collective unconsciousness, and which emerge during some certain trance states and ASCs. Some of these simple geometric forms are called entoptic images and phosphenes. Entopic images and phosphenes have been found in various cultural art work and the drawings of cave walls, which were formed during the shamanic religious rituals since the Neolithic times. Also entoptic images exist in many folkloric, traditional and cultures geometrical shapes. Long before the creation of languages, visual perception and information was the only source for the mankind to perceive outer world, as it is the only one in the primate world. This article reviews the possibility of an ancient forgotten visual sign and symbol language, which is genetically existent in the human brain and that, emerges out during ASCs, trance states and the consciousness altered by the psychoactive plants. The basics of this geometrical sign and symbol language may have generated the formation of some archetypal symbols and concepts, which are yet to be discovered. Near to this, emerging of many attributes of the sub-or-un-consciousness, during those “psychedelic plant journeys” had had a prodigious impact on the formation and creation of many religious “figures, characters, creatures, archetype images” that today exist, not only in the mythology, but also in many religions, as well, such as angels, spirits, Jinns, demons, Satan, mythological creatures, supra-natural creatures, gods, and goddesses. Mystical and religious experiences during the rituals using psychoactive plants may have also helped the archaic ancestral information, coded in the limbic system, to come out onto the consciousness, which may also have helped the evolution of the hominoids and Homo sapiens.

Sayin, H. U. (2014). Does the Nervous System Have an Intrinsic Archaic Language? Entoptic Images and Phosphenes. Neuroquantology, 12(3), 427-445. https://dx.doi.org/10.14704/nq.2014.12.3.756
Link to full text

Recent advances in the neuropsychopharmacology of serotonergic hallucinogens

July 15, 2014 / Cacti / Mescaline, DMT, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Other subjects, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Serotonergic hallucinogens, such as (+)-lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and mescaline, are somewhat enigmatic substances. Although these drugs are derived from multiple chemical families, they all produce remarkably similar effects in animals and humans, and they show cross-tolerance. This article reviews the evidence demonstrating the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor is the primary site of hallucinogen action. The 5-HT2A receptor is responsible for mediating the effects of hallucinogens in human subjects, as well as in animal behavioral paradigms such as drug discrimination, head twitch response, prepulse inhibition of startle, exploratory behavior, and interval timing. Many recent clinical trials have yielded important new findings regarding the psychopharmacology of these substances. Furthermore, the use of modern imaging and electrophysiological techniques is beginning to help unravel how hallucinogens work in the brain. Evidence is also emerging that hallucinogens may possess therapeutic efficacy.

Halberstadt, A. L. (2014). Recent advances in the neuropsychopharmacology of serotonergic hallucinogens. Behavioural Brain Research, 277, 99-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2014.07.016
Link to full text

The Consumption of Psychoactive Plants in Ancient Global and Anatolian Cultures During Religious Rituals: The Roots of the Eruption of Mythological Figures and Common Symbols in Religions and Myths

June 12, 2014 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, DMT, Ethnobotany, Iboga / Ibogaine, Indigenous use, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other disciplines, Other subjects, Papers, Publications, Religious studies, Salvia / Salvinorin A / By /

Abstract

Psychoactive plants which contain hallucinogenic molecules that induce a form of altered states of consciousness (H-ASC) have been widely used during the religious rituals of many cultures throughout the centuries, while the consumption of these plants for spiritual and religious purposes is as old as human history. Some of those cultures were shaman and pagan subcultures; African native religions; Bwiti Cult; South American native religions; Amazon Cultures; Central American Cultures; Mexican subcultures; Aztec, Maya and Inca; Wiccan and witch subcultures; Satanists; American Indians; Greek and Hellenistic cultures; Sufis; Hassan Sabbah’s Hashissins; Hindu, Indian and Tibetan cultures; some of the Nordic subcultures etc. Some of the psychoactive ingredients of the plants that were used during these religious rituals were; narcotic analgesics (opium), THC (cannabis), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), mescaline (peyote), ibogaine (Tabernanthe iboga), DMT (Ayahuasca and phalaris species), Peganum harmala, bufotenin, muscimol (Amanita muscaria), thujone (absinthe, Arthemisia absinthium), ephedra, mandragora, star lotus, Salvia divinorum etc. The main purposes of the practice of these plants were: spiritual healing; to contact with spirits; to contact with the souls of ancestors; to reach enlightenment (Nirvana or Satori); to become a master shaman, pagan or witch; to reach so-called-other realities, etc. Such “psychedelic-philosophical plant rituals” changed participating persons’ psychology, philosophy and personality to a great degree. In these two successive articles, the consumption of psychedelic plants during religious rituals is reviewed and it is hypothesized that the images, Figures, illusions and hallucinations experienced during these “plant trips” had a great impact on the formation and creation of many Figures, characters, creatures, archetype images that exist not only in the mythology, but also in many religions, as well, such as angels, demons, Satan, mythological creatures, gods, goddesses etc. In the Middle East and Anatolia, within many hermetic and pagan religions, Greek and Hellenic cultures psychoactive plant use was a serious part of the religious rituals, such as Dionysian rituals or Witch’s’ Sabbaths. Although the impact of the “psychedelic experience and imagination” was enormous to the configuration of many religious and mythological characters, and archetypes, this fact has been underestimated and even unnoticed by many historians and anthropologists, because of the quasi-ethical trends of “anti-drug-brain-washed Western Societies”.
Sayin, H. U. (2014). The Consumption of Psychoactive Plants in Ancient Global and Anatolian Cultures During Religious Rituals: The Roots of the Eruption of Mythological Figures and Common Symbols in Religions and Myths. NeuroQuantology, 12(2), 276-296. https://dx.doi.org/10.14704/nq.2014.12.2.753
Link to full text

Peyote as Medicin: an Examination of Therapeutic Factors that Contribute to Healing

January 1, 2014 / Addiction, Anthropology, Cacti / Mescaline, Ethnobotany, Indigenous use, Other subjects, Papers, Publications / By /

Abstract

The therapeutic value of particular “hallucinogenic” plants is recognized by various cultures throughout the globe, with evidence suggesting that the medical and ritual use of these plants may date back several millennia in some instances. Peyote, a psychoactive cactus, is considered a medicine by many Native Americans, and has been hailed as a cure for alcoholism despite having no “scientifically” accepted medical use. The notion that hallucinogenic compounds may have therapeutic applications, however, is increasingly supported by scientific research. Despite the heavy focus of allopathic medicine on pharmacology, the therapeutic value of peyote must be understood in holistic terms. By uniting Gordon Claridge’s work on the Total Drug Effect with the work of Daniel E. Moerman and Wayne B. Jonas on the Meaning Response, and with Toksoz Karasu’s Agents of Therapeutic Change, a therapeutic model emerges that can explain how the symbolic, ritual, and community components of the peyote ceremony combine with peyote’s distinctive pharmacological properties to produce a unique and efficacious healing experience.

Ayahuasca-Liane, D., & Peyote-Kaktus, D. (2014). Zeitschrift für Medizinethnologie• Journal of Medical Anthropology. Curare, 37(2014), 3.
Link to full text

Serotonergic hyperactivity as a potential factor in developmental, acquired and drug-induced synesthesia

October 21, 2013 / Cacti / Mescaline, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Neuroscience, Other subjects, Papers, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By /

Abstract

Though synesthesia research has seen a huge growth in recent decades, and tremendous progress has been made in terms of understanding the mechanism and cause of synesthesia, we are still left mostly in the dark when it comes to the mechanistic commonalities (if any) among developmental, acquired and drug-induced synesthesia. We know that many forms of synesthesia involve aberrant structural or functional brain connectivity. Proposed mechanisms include direct projection and disinhibited feedback mechanisms, in which information from two otherwise structurally or functionally separate brain regions mix. We also know that synesthesia sometimes runs in families. However, it is unclear what causes its onset. Studies of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, LSD and mescaline, reveal that exposure to these drugs can induce synesthesia. One neurotransmitter suspected to be central to the perceptual changes is serotonin. Excessive serotonin in the brain may cause many of the characteristics of psychedelic intoxication. Excessive serotonin levels may also play a role in synesthesia acquired after brain injury. In brain injury sudden cell death floods local brain regions with serotonin and glutamate. This neurotransmitter flooding could perhaps result in unusual feature binding. Finally, developmental synesthesia that occurs in individuals with autism may be a result of alterations in the serotonergic system, leading to a blockage of regular gating mechanisms. I conclude on these grounds that one commonality among at least some cases of acquired, developmental and drug-induced synesthesia may be the presence of excessive levels of serotonin, which increases the excitability and connectedness of sensory brain regions.

Brogaard, B. (2013). Serotonergic hyperactivity as a potential factor in developmental, acquired and drug-induced synesthesia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00657
Link to full text

The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review

October 17, 2013 / Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, DMT, Iboga / Ibogaine, Ketamine, LSD, MDMA, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other subjects, Other substances, Papers, Psychology, Publications, Salvia / Salvinorin A / By / ,

Abstract

Despite the general consensus that synaesthesia emerges at an early developmental stage and is only rarely acquired during adulthood, the transient induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents has been frequently reported in research on different psychoactive substances. Nevertheless, these effects remain poorly understood and have not been systematically incorporated. Here we review the known published studies in which chemical agents were observed to elicit synaesthesia. Across studies there is consistent evidence that serotonin agonists elicit transient experiences of synaesthesia. Despite convergent results across studies, studies investigating the induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents have numerous methodological limitations and little experimental research has been conducted. Cumulatively, these studies implicate the serotonergic system in synaesthesia and have implications for the neurochemical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon but methodological limitations in this research area preclude making firm conclusions regarding whether chemical agents can induce genuine synaesthesia.

Luke, D. P., & Terhune, D. B. (2013). The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00753
Link to full text

A proposal to evaluate mechanistic efficacy of hallucinogens in addiction treatment

September 1, 2013 / Addiction, Ayahuasca, Cacti / Mescaline, DMT, Iboga / Ibogaine, LSD, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / ,

Abstract

Current treatments for addiction are frequently ineffective. Hallucinogenic therapy has been indicated as helpful for a range of substance use disorders, yet this approach remains understudied and publicly unavailable. It is nonetheless a promising treatment, which has significant, long-term beneficial effects with single doses and a profile characterized by general safety, low toxicity, and non-addictiveness. However, pharmacological interventions, such as hallucinogens, should not be offered if the same effects (e.g. psychological insights/mystical experiences) and outcomes (e.g. decreased drug use) could be achieved absent pharmacological intervention. To date, there have been no clinical comparisons of drug-induced altered states with non-drug-induced states for addiction treatment. We propose and then outline a clinical trial to address this gap in knowledge. The proposed design would evaluate abstinence outcomes in a population of prescription opioid abusers after exposure to one of three conditions: a drug-induced altered state using psilocybin, a non-drug-induced altered state via hyperventilation (Holotropic Breathwork), and an active placebo with niacin. The outcomes of such a study would reveal important differences in therapeutic potential by discriminating hallucinogen-dependent effects from those psychological effects resulting from altered states.

Burdick, B. V., & Adinoff, B. (2013). A proposal to evaluate mechanistic efficacy of hallucinogens in addiction treatment. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 39(5), 291-297. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2013.811513
Link to full text

Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study

August 19, 2013 / Cacti / Mescaline, MDMA, Mushrooms / Psilocybin, Other subjects, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Publications, Safety / By / ,

Abstract

Background
The classical serotonergic psychedelics LSD, psilocybin, mescaline are not known to cause brain damage and are regarded as non-addictive. Clinical studies do not suggest that psychedelics cause long-term mental health problems. Psychedelics have been used in the Americas for thousands of years. Over 30 million people currently living in the US have used LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline.

Objective
To evaluate the association between the lifetime use of psychedelics and current mental health in the adult population.

Method
Data drawn from years 2001 to 2004 of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health consisted of 130,152 respondents, randomly selected to be representative of the adult population in the United States. Standardized screening measures for past year mental health included serious psychological distress (K6 scale), mental health treatment (inpatient, outpatient, medication, needed but did not receive), symptoms of eight psychiatric disorders (panic disorder, major depressive episode, mania, social phobia, general anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and non-affective psychosis), and seven specific symptoms of non-affective psychosis. We calculated weighted odds ratios by multivariate logistic regression controlling for a range of sociodemographic variables, use of illicit drugs, risk taking behavior, and exposure to traumatic events.

Results
21,967 respondents (13.4% weighted) reported lifetime psychedelic use. There were no significant associations between lifetime use of any psychedelics, lifetime use of specific psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote), or past year use of LSD and increased rate of any of the mental health outcomes. Rather, in several cases psychedelic use was associated with lower rate of mental health problems.

Conclusion
We did not find use of psychedelics to be an independent risk factor for mental health problems.

Krebs, T. S., & Johansen, P. Ø. (2013) Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study. PLoS ONE, 8(8), 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0063972
Link to full text

22 May - Delivering Effective Psychedelic Clinical Trials

REGISTER NOW!
X