A study developed by the University of Sussex (United Kingdom) has found the first scientific evidence of a higher state of consciousness, which suggests that psychedelic drugs cause the brain to behave in a way that is very different than usual.
Neuroscientists observed a sustained increase in the diversity of the neural signal of the volunteers under the influence of psychedelic drugs , compared to their normal state without drug use.
Taking into account that the diversity of brain signals provides a mathematical index of the level of consciousness ( awake we have a more diverse neural activity than asleep ), this is the first investigation that shows a diversity of brain signals much higher than the baseline , higher than someone who is simply “awake and aware.”
According to the conclusions of the experiment, “ during the psychedelic state, the electrical activity of the brain is less predictable and less integrated than during normal conscious wakefulness . Since this measure has already demonstrated its value as a dimension of the level of consciousness, we can say that the psychedelic state appears as a higher level of consciousness, but only with respect to this specific mathematical measure ”, clarifies Anil Seth, leader of the work.
The LSD experiment
For their study, the scientists reanalyzed data that had previously been collected by Imperial College London and Cardiff University, in which healthy volunteers were administered one of three drugs that induce a psychedelic state: psilocybin, Ketamine and LSD. .
Under the effect of hallucinogens, they studied the brain activity of the participants, discovering this increase in brain activity: the diversity of the neural signal was incontestably higher.
This does not mean that the psychedelic state is a “better” or more desirable state of consciousness, but rather it shows that the psychedelic state of the brain is distinctive and may be related to other global changes on the conscious level.
The results could help to inform the discussion about the carefully controlled medical use of such drugs, for example, in the treatment of severe depression.
“Rigorous research on psychedelics is gaining more and more attention, due to the therapeutic potential these drugs can have when used sensibly and under medical supervision . The findings of the present study help us understand what happens in people’s brains. when they experience an expansion of their consciousness under psychedelics. People often say that they experience visions or hallucinations under these drugs and when this occurs in a therapeutic context, it can predict positive results. The current findings can help us understand how this can happen, “he explains Robin Cahart-Harris, co-author of the work.
Historical coincidence
The release date of the article occurs on the same day that Albert Hoffman, after synthesizing LSD for the first time, 74 years ago, carried out his first “self-experience” to discover its psychotropic effects. This date, April 19, 1943, is known as “bicycle day” in honor of the trip back home by bicycle that Hoffman, the ‘father of LSD’, made after this first ‘trip’ with this well-known substance. popularly as acid.
The study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
