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Altered States
A new framework suggests that bursts of neural chaos could be the fingerprints of a conscious mind at work.
Getting drunk might be bad for you but good for us.
5-MeO-DMT may offer a practical way to access and study consciousness in its most basic form.
In "Human History on Drugs," Sam Kelly explores what the research can tell us about one of history’s most brilliant — and troubled — artists.
A look inside Mindstate Design Labs' effort to design drugs that reliably produce specific states of mind.
What can drugs teach us about consciousness?
A powerful psychedelic long used in African rituals shows surprising promise for treating traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
Delirium is one of the most perplexing deathbed phenomena, exposing the gap between our cultural ideals of dying words and the reality of a disoriented mind.
"The amount of interest is enormous," says anesthesiologist Boris Heifets. "People are dropping in and coming out of the woodwork, trying to understand how to do this."
The controversial theory about magic mushrooms and human evolution gets a much-needed update.
"Upon emergence, these patients are sincerely unsure what was reality and what was a ‘dream.'"
Propofol, a drug commonly used for general anesthesia, derails the brain’s normal balance between stability and excitability.
A recent study suggests that exposure to visual stimuli can diminish the effects of psychedelic drugs.
The truth may be out there — but it’s not in these close encounters of the third kind.
Here's the thorny reality behind psychedelics' ability to unearth buried memories.
Benjamin Breen on his greatest revelations while writing about the birth of psychedelic science.
Big Think recently spoke with sleep psychologist Dr. Jade Wu about the surprising consequences of forgoing sleep.
Many still consider hypnosis more of a cheap magician’s trick than legitimate clinical medicine.
Uncovering the story of Milan Hausner, the Sadská clinic, and LSD psychotherapy behind the Iron Curtain.
The heart's rhythms may play a larger role in shaping psychedelic experiences than previously thought.
Millions of people have had a near-death experience, and it often leads them to believe in an afterlife. Does this count as good proof?
Various environmental phenomena can play tricks on our brain.
What a long strange trip it's been.
Inside the “out there” quest for a drug that would help doctors save lives before it’s too late.
Only about 10% of patients survive cardiac arrest. Of the ones who do, many have amazing stories to tell.
Legally smoking joints in city centers will require alertness and a keen sense of orientation — two things stoners are not known for.
In a psychedelic state, the relationship between your “narrative” and “minimal” selves seems to transform in unique ways.
The mountain can generate lenticular clouds, which may contribute to its supernatural reputation.