Katharina Buczek
Psychedelic drugs blossomed in popularity during the 1960s and became commonly associated with hippie counterculture.
Psychedelics also became the main focal point for thousands of scientific studies conducted during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
Although, in recent years, particular attention has been dedicated to understanding the process, risks, and benefits of potential medically-supervised psychedelic drug therapies.
A newly published study conducted by McGill University in Quebec has forged even further. The research team, led by Professor Danilo Bzdok, conducted the most extensive psychedelic study to date and aimed to understand how subjective awareness is rooted in various specific brain receptor systems.
The researchers first sought out people who have taken psychedelic drugs and collected nearly seven thousand testimonials about their experiences.
Then, the team designed a computer system to identify and extract the most commonly used terms. The researchers worked to link these words with the specific neurotransmitter receptors that would have likely induced that response.
After identifying the association of subjective experiences and receptors, the researchers were able to identify specific brain regions.
Interestingly, these regions happen to be some of the lowest and deepest layers in the brain’s information processing region.
The team went even further to create a three-dimensional map of the brain receptors and their associated experiences.
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