Psychedelics, meditation, and self-consciousness
This narrative review discusses how meditation and psychedelic drugs can alter states of consciousness. There is converging evidence that psychedelics and meditation can produce strong, short-term, and reversible disruptions of self-consciousness and underlying neural processes. However, experiences of “self-loss” are not uniform and can be decomposed in “narrative” aspects (e.g. loss of access to autobiographical information), as well as bodily and multisensory aspects (e.g. loss of body ownership). Finally, the authors consider long-term outcomes of experiences of self-loss on individual traits and prosocial behavior.
Authors
- Robin Carhart-Harris
- Leor Roseman
Published
Abstract
In recent years, the scientific study of meditation and psychedelic drugs has seen remarkable developments. The increased focus on meditation in cognitive neuroscience has led to a cross-cultural classification of standard meditation styles validated by functional and structural neuroanatomical data. Meanwhile, the renaissance of psychedelic research has shed light on the neurophysiology of altered states of consciousness induced by classical psychedelics, such as psilocybin and LSD, whose effects are mainly mediated by agonism of serotonin receptors. Few attempts have been made at bridging these two domains of inquiry, despite intriguing evidence of overlap between the phenomenology and neurophysiology of meditation practice and psychedelic states. In particular, many contemplative traditions explicitly aim at dissolving the sense of self by eliciting altered states of consciousness through meditation, while classical psychedelics are known to produce significant disruptions of self-consciousness, a phenomenon known as drug-induced ego dissolution. In this article, we discuss available evidence regarding convergences and differences between phenomenological and neurophysiological data on meditation practice and psychedelic drug-induced states, with a particular emphasis on alterations of self-experience. While both meditation and psychedelics may disrupt self-consciousness and underlying neural processes, we emphasize that neither meditation nor psychedelic states can be conceived as simple, uniform categories. Moreover, we suggest that there are important phenomenological differences even between conscious states described as experiences of self-loss. As a result, we propose that self-consciousness may be best construed as a multidimensional construct, and that “self-loss,” far from being an unequivocal phenomenon, can take several forms. Indeed, various aspects of self-consciousness, including narrative aspects linked to autobiographical memory, self-related thoughts and mental time travel, and embodied aspects rooted in multisensory processes, may be differently affected by psychedelics and meditation practices. Finally, we consider long-term outcomes of experiences of self-loss induced by meditation and psychedelics on individual traits and prosocial behavior. We call for caution regarding the problematic conflation of temporary states of self-loss with “selflessness” as a behavioral or social trait, although there is preliminary evidence that correlations between short-term experiences of self-loss and long-term trait alterations may exist.
Research Summary of 'Psychedelics, meditation, and self-consciousness'
Introduction
Recent advances in cognitive neuroscience have produced substantial literatures on both meditation and classical psychedelics, yet few attempts have systematically compared the two domains. Millière and colleagues situate their review at the intersection of these literatures, noting that many contemplative traditions explicitly aim to diminish ordinary self-experience, while classical psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, mescaline) are known to cause profound disruptions of self-consciousness often labelled "ego dissolution." The introduction emphasises that neither meditation nor psychedelic states are uniform categories: effects vary by practice style, dose, individual differences and contextual factors, and dramatic self-disruptions tend to occur mainly in highly experienced meditators or at high drug doses. The paper sets out to compare phenomenological and neurophysiological evidence on how meditation and psychedelics alter self-experience. Millière and colleagues propose that self-consciousness is multidimensional and that "self-loss" can take several distinct forms affecting narrative (self-related thought, autobiographical memory) and embodied or multisensory aspects (body ownership, interoception, spatial self-location). They aim to synthesise existing empirical findings, highlight convergences and differences between meditative and drug-induced states, and discuss implications for trait-level changes and therapeutic outcomes.
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Millière, R., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roseman, L., Trautwein, F., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2018). Psychedelics, meditation, and self-consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01475
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