Psychedelic drugs induce 'heightened state of consciousness', brain scans show

[OrbitalDawn]

Study records what appears to be the first evidence for mind-opening state experienced by users of LSD, ketamine and psilocybin

Brain scans have revealed the first evidence for what appears to be a heightened state of consciousness in people who took psychedelic drugs in the name of science.

Healthy volunteers who received LSD, ketamine or psilocybin, a compound found in magic mushrooms, were found to have more random brain activity than normal while under the influence, according to a study into the effects of the drugs.

The shift in brain activity accompanied a host of peculiar sensations that the participants said ranged from floating and finding inner peace, to distortions in time and a conviction that the self was disintegrating.

Researchers at the University of Sussex and Imperial College, London, measured the activity of neurons in people’s brains as the drugs took hold. Similar measurements have shown that when people are asleep or under anaesthetic, their neurons tend to fire in a more predictable way than when they are awake.

“What we find is that under each of these psychedelic compounds, this specific measure of global conscious level goes up, so it moves in the other direction. The neural activity becomes more unpredictable,” said Anil Seth, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Sussex. “Until now, we’ve only ever seen decreases compared to the baseline of the normal waking state.”

 

[airborne]

What a day when doctors can prescribe Lsd for depression, classic.

 

[The Trutherizer]

What a day when doctors can prescribe Lsd for depression, classic.

I think that was its original use when it was developed.

However, reading the article, I'm not sure if less predictable can be equated to a heightened consciousness just because brain activity is more predictable when we sleep. There might be a bit of a Goldilocks zone there... You know - Somewhere between Rip van Winkel and Alice in Wonderland.