Cognitive effects - Psychedelics
This article attempts to break down the cognitive and behavioural effects contained within the psychedelic experience into simple, easy to understand titles, descriptions and levelling systems. This will be done without depending on metaphors, analogies or personal trip reports. The article starts off with descriptions of the simpler effects and works its way up towards more complex experiences as it progresses.
Current mind state enhancement
Effect:Current mind state enhancement
Thought acceleration
Connectivity of thought
Feelings of fascination, importance and awe
Cognitive effects: Feelings of fascination, importance and awe
Time distortion
Time distortion is defined as an effect that makes the passage of time feel difficult to keep track of and wildly distorted.[1] It is usually felt in two different forms, time dilation and time compression.[2] These two forms are described and documented below:
Time dilation
Time dilation is defined as the feeling that time has slowed down.[3] This commonly occurs during intense hallucinogenic experiences and seems to stem from the fact that during an intense trip, abnormally large amounts of experience are felt in very short periods of time.[4][5] This can create the illusion that more time has passed than actually has. For example, at the end of certain experiences, one may feel that they have subjectively undergone days, weeks, months, years, or even infinite periods of time.
Time dilation is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as spirituality intensification,[6] thought loops, novelty enhancement, and internal hallucinations in a manner which may lead one into perceiving a disproportionately large number of events considering the amount of time that has actually passed in the real world. It is most commonly induced under the influence of heavy dosages of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psychedelics,[7][8] dissociatives, entactogens,[9][10] and cannabinoids.
Time compression
Time compression is defined as the experience of time speeding up and passing much quicker than it usually would while sober. For example, during this state a person may realize that an entire evening has passed them by in what feels like only a couple of hours.
This commonly occurs under the influence of certain stimulating compounds and seems to at least partially stem from the fact that during intense levels of stimulation, people typically become hyper-focused on activities and tasks in a manner which can allow time to pass them by without realizing it. However, the same experience can also occur on depressant compounds which induce amnesia. This occurs due to the way in which a person can literally forget everything that has happened while still experiencing the effects of the substance, thus giving the impression that they have suddenly jumped forward in time.
Time compression is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as memory suppression, focus intensification, stimulation, and amnesia in a manner which may lead one into perceiving a disproportionately small number of events considering the amount of time that has actually passed in the real world. It is most commonly induced under the influence of heavy dosages of stimulating and/or amnesic compounds,[11] such as dissociatives,[12] entactogens, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines.
Time reversal
Time reversal is defined as the perception that the events, hallucinations, and experiences that occurred around one's self within the previous several minutes to several hours are spontaneously playing backwards in a manner which is somewhat similar to that of a rewinding VHS tape. During this reversal, the person's cognition and train of thought will typically continue to play forward in a coherent and linear manner while they watch the external environment around them and their body's physical actions play in reverse order. This can either occur in real time, with 5 minutes of time reversal taking approximately 5 minutes to fully rewind, or it can occur in a manner which is sped up, with 5 minutes of time reversal only taking less than a minute. It can reasonably be speculated that the experience of time reversal may potentially occur through a combination of internal hallucinations and errors in memory encoding.
Time reversal is often accompanied by other coinciding effects such as internal hallucinations, thought loops, and deja vu. It is most commonly induced under the influence of extremely heavy dosages of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants.
Introspection
Cognitive effects: Introspection
Outrospection
Cognitive effects: Outrospection
Rejuvenation
Cognitive effects: Rejuvenation
Deja-Vu
Mindfulness
Cognitive effects: Mindfulness
Multiple thought streams
Cognitive effects: Multiple thought streams
Suppression of personal bias
Cognitive effects: Suppression of personal bias
Feelings of predeterminism
Cognitive effects: Feelings of predeterminism
Conceptual thinking
Cognitive effects: Conceptual thinking
Direct communication with the subconscious
Cognitive effects: Direct communication with the subconscious
Ego suppression, loss and death
Cognitive effects: Ego suppression, loss and death
Personality regression
Cognitive effects: Personality regression
Thought loops
Cognitive effects: Thought loops
Feelings of interdependent opposites
Cognitive effects: Feelings of interdependent opposites
Delusions
States of unity and interconnectedness
Cognitive effects: States of unity and interconnectedness
See also
- Psychedelics
- Visual effects - Psychedelics
- Auditory effects - Psychedelics
- Physical effects - Psychedelics
- Multi-Sensory effects - Psychedelics
- Dissociatives
- Deliriants
- Hallucinogens
References
- ↑ N. Stanciu, C., M. Penders, T. (1 June 2016). "Hallucinogen Persistent Perception Disorder Induced by New Psychoactive Substituted Phenethylamines; A Review with Illustrative Case". Current Psychiatry Reviews. 12 (2): 221–223.
- ↑ Nichols, D. E. (2016). "Psychedelics". Pharmacological Reviews. 68 (2): 264–355. doi:10.1124/pr.115.011478. ISSN 1521-0081.
- ↑ Pink-Hashkes, S., Rooij, I. J. E. I. van, Kwisthout, J. H. P. (2017). "Perception is in the details: A predictive coding account of the psychedelic phenomenon". London, UK : Cognitive Science Society.
- ↑ Hill, R. M.; Fischer, R.; Warshay, Diana (1969). "Effects of excitatory and tranquilizing drugs on visual perception. spatial distortion thresholds". Experientia. 25 (2): 171–172. doi:10.1007/BF01899105. ISSN 0014-4754.
- ↑ Fischer, R. (1971). "A Cartography of the Ecstatic and Meditative States". Science. 174 (4012): 897–904. doi:10.1126/science.174.4012.897. ISSN 0036-8075.
- ↑ Buckley, P. (1981). "Mystical Experience and Schizophrenia". Schizophrenia Bulletin. 7 (3): 516–521. doi:10.1093/schbul/7.3.516. ISSN 0586-7614.
- ↑ Schroll, M. A. (2013). "From ecopsychology to transpersonal ecosophy: Shamanism, psychedelics and transpersonal psychology" (PDF). European Journal of Ecopsychology. 4: 116–144.
- ↑ Riley, Sarah C.E.; Blackman, Graham (2009). "Between Prohibitions: Patterns and Meanings of Magic Mushroom Use in the UK". Substance Use & Misuse. 43 (1): 55–71. doi:10.1080/10826080701772363. ISSN 1082-6084.
- ↑ Nikolova, I.; Danchev, N. (2014). "Piperazine Based Substances of Abuse: A new Party Pills on Bulgarian Drug Market". Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment. 22 (2): 652–655. doi:10.1080/13102818.2008.10817529. ISSN 1310-2818.
- ↑ Yeap, C. W., Bian, C. K., Abdullah, A. F. L. (2010). "A Review on Benzylpiperazine and Trifluoromethylphenypiperazine: Origins, Effects, Prevalence and Legal Status". Health and the Environment Journal. 1 (2): 38–50.
- ↑ Griffith, John D.; Nutt, John G.; Jasinski, Donald R. (1975). "A comparison of fenfluramine and amphetamine in man". Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 18 (5part1): 563–570. doi:10.1002/cpt1975185part1563. ISSN 0009-9236.
- ↑ Corazza, Ornella; Assi, Sulaf; Schifano, Fabrizio (2013). "From "Special K" to "Special M": The Evolution of the Recreational Use of Ketamine and Methoxetamine". CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics. 19 (6): 454–460. doi:10.1111/cns.12063. ISSN 1755-5930.