NEW STUDY LINKS NEURAL ACTIVITY WITH PSILOCYBIN-INDUCED SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

NEW STUDY LINKS NEURAL ACTIVITY WITH PSILOCYBIN-INDUCED SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

New research by a team including Heffter board member Franz Vollenweider casts light on the well-known but little understood ability of psychedelics to produce spiritual experiences. The study, published in the journalPsychopharmacology, involved EEG recordings of 50 healthy volunteers who took a moderate dose of psilocybin. The researchers discovered intriguing correlations between the intensity of spiritual experience and activity in certain areas of the brain.

“These results provide systematic evidence for the direct association of a specific spatiotemporal neuronal mechanism with spiritual experiences and enhanced insight into life and existence. The identified mechanism may constitute a pathway for modulating mental health, as spiritual experiences can promote sustained well-being and psychological resilience.”

Psilocybin-induced spiritual experiences and insightfulness are associated with synchronization of neuronal oscillations | Psychopharmacology