Psychedelic Phenomena LSD Psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs explained

 It was the drug of choice on university campuses, the drug that spawned psychedelic culture as well as countless jail sentences and fines, but LSD actually has respectable roots—roots that a McMaster University researcher is uncovering. Share this "Far from being fringe medical research, trials of LSD were once a legitimate branch of psychiatric research," explains Erika Dyck, a doctoral researcher in the Department of History at McMaster. "LSD produced a "model psychosis," meaning people who took the drug exhibited symptoms of illnesses such as schizophrenia. Doctors used this as a new method for studying mental illness." In a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Dyck traces the history of LSD—and its eventual withdrawal from medical research. LSD, or d-lysergic acid diethylamide, first appeared in scientific literature in 1943. For nearly a decade, it gave psychiatrists insight into the experi-ences of schizophrenic patients and show

Brain scans of people under the influence of the psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, have given scientists the most detailed picture to date of how psychedelic drugs work. The findings of two studies being published in scientific journals this week identify areas of the brain where activity is suppressed by psilocybin and suggest that it helps people to experience memories more vividly. Share This: 107 Related Ads: Brain Tumor Science News Mice Research Mushrooms See Also: Health & Medicine Brain Tumor Psychology Research Mind & Brain Psychedelic Drugs Intelligence Plants & Animals Mice Biology Reference Functional neuroimaging Psychedelic drug Psychedelic properties Psychedelic mushroom In the first study, published January 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 30healthy volunteers had psilocybin infused into their blood while inside magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, which measure changes in brain activity. The scans s

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Hallucinogenic Drugs and Plants in Psychotherapy and Shamanism Ralph Metzner, Ph.D.* Abstract— Western psychotherapy and indigenous shamanic healing systems have both used psychoactive drugs or plants for healing and obtaining knowledge (called “diagnosis” or “divination” respectively). While there are superficial similarities between psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and shamanic healing with hallucinogenic plants, there are profound differences in the underlying worldview and conceptions of reality. Four paradigms are reviewed: (1) psychedelic psychotherapy within the standard Western paradigm— here the drug is used to amplify and intensify the processes of internal self-analysis and self-understanding; (2) shamanic rituals of healing and divination, which involve primarily the shaman or healer taking the medicine in order to be able to “see” the causes of illness and know what kind of remedy to apply; (3) syncretic folk religious ceremonies, in which the focus seems to be a kind of

A Review of Transpersonal Theory and Its Application to the Practice of Psychotherapy Mark C. Kasprow, M.D. Bruce W. Scotton, M.D. Transpersonal theory proposes that there are developmental stages beyond the adult ego, which involve experiences of connectedness with phenomena considered outside the boundaries of the ego. In healthy individuals, these developmental stages can engender the highest human qualities, including altruism, creativity, and intuitive wisdom. For persons lacking healthy ego development, however, such experiences can lead to psychosis. Superficially, transpersonal states look similar to psychosis. However, transpersonal theory can assist clinicians in discriminating between these two conditions, thereby optimizing treatment. The authors discuss various therapeutic methods, including transpersonal psychopharmacology and the therapeutic use of altered states of consciousness. (The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research 1999; 8:12–23) T he term transpersonal