Psychedelics and Human Brain

 

In my research, I encountered several different occasions of psychedelic substance usage in different kinds of spiritual ceremonies or sacraments, mostly to guide the person to reach a transcendent or elevated state of mind, to generate more profound bonds with the community and its cultural backgrounds. I really believe these substances hold a special ability to reveal the very depths of our minds. Dreams and perhaps other states may hint at what lies deep within our consciousness according to some scholars. Seeing the recent research in medical utilization of psychedelics to help major depression and severe addiction problems, thus observing the history of psychedelic use in tribal rituals seeking enlightenment, I am almost convinced that these substances somehow give an insight about the unconscious part of the human mind.

“Psyche” = SOUL

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“delos/delic” = TO REVEAL

“Psychedelic” = “Soul revealing”

I found out that with the diminishing legal constraints, psychologists and neuroscientists started working on the drug to understand how it works, and how it is constantly related with the most spiritual actions from different cultures from history. Freud famously told us about dreams, stated how they can be used as windows to the unconscious mind. But the major problem is that it happens when we are asleep, waking up, we are only left with a flimsy memory about what we experienced in the dream state.

Stanislav Grof mentions in his book called “Realms of the Human Unconscious” that: “The capacity of psychedelic drugs to exteriorize otherwise invisible phenomena and make them the subject of scientific investigation gives these substances a unique potential as research tools for the exploration of human mind. It does not seem inappropriate or exaggeration to compare their potential significance for psychiatry to that of the microscope for medicine or the telescope for astronomy.”

So what changes in the brain during these experiences and how to understand this

effect of psychedelics. At its most basic, this image explains how the communication pathways in the brain changes in psychedelic experience. It is observed that in a normal state, brain communicates in a much more constrained manner, for example visual regions of the brain talks mostly with the other visual regions, audial regions talk mostly with other audial regions etc. However, under the effects of psychedelics, the locality of the communication pathways completely breaks down, creating a freer communication in the brain, clarified from its constraints. Other way of looking is that: much more of the brain contributes to the visual experience under psychedelics, rather than only the visual regions. (same for taste, hearing etc). This visual effect correlates strongly with the dreamlike visions people reported under LSD, when their eyes were closed. I come to a conclusion that in both dream state, and psychedelic state, human mind becomes “unanchored” from the sensory information. It can operate in a freewheeling almost anarchic way: conjuring imagery from the very depths of our minds rather than relying on sensory information.

I believe that what we produce as artists, have a deep relationship with the very essence of our individuality, our roots, something lies deep within each person, almost like a soul that resonates with our personality our morals, thoughts and traumas. I guess this is why I think we should value these substances as artists and scientists since it is one of the most profound ways of reaching directly to the very depths of consciousness. The influence of psychedelic substances on thought provides a rich case study for exploring the complex interplay of brain, mind, culture, and neurochemistry. Approached with care, psychedelics may prove to be illuminating the dynamics of spontaneous thought and flexibility of mind. 

I also think that human beings has different dynamics when they are in groups. It seems possible that I can find a relation between rituals, psychedelics and the dynamics of people acting in a group. Finally hoping to find an anchorpoint for my paintings and sculptures.