Psychedelic experience 2401-CS-PS-s2

I. The aim of the course is to investigate the cognitive mechanisms that underpin psychedelic experiences, i.e., altered states of consciousness induced by the consumption of serotonergic psychedelic substances. The course will focus on the following groups of topics:
• history and cultural contexts of psychedelic substances – class 2;
• the phenomenology of psychedelic experiences - classes 3-4.
• neurocomputational mechanisms responsible for psychedelic experiences (particularly the REBUS model and emerging alternative models) - classes 5-7;
• the relationship between psychedelic experiences and the sense of self - classes 8-9;
• the mechanisms of psychedelic therapy - classes 10-11;
• the epistemology of psychedelic experiences (beliefs induced by psychedelic experiences and their epistemic status) - classes 12-13.

II. Course rules and grading criteria

• Two absences are allowed. Each subsequent absence must be compensated for. Compensation involves discussing the missed main reading during the instructor's office hours.
• During the semester, each student will deliver an approximately 20-minute presentation during the classes. The presentations will be based on the material listed in the course plan. Further details regarding student presentations will be provided in the first class.
• The final grade will be based on the presentation and active participation during classes.

III. Course plan

1. Introduction
2. History of psychedelic use
i Main reading:
• Pollan, M. (2019). How to Change Your Mind? Chapter 3 (History: The First Wave).
• You can also watch the Netflix documentary based on this book.
ii Presentation:
• Smigielski, L., Kometer, M., Scheidegger, M., Krahenmann, R., Huber, T., Vollenweider, F.X. (2019). Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat. Scientific Reports, 9(1), pp. 1–13.
3. Psychedelic phenomenology, part I
i Main reading:
• Letheby, C. (2021). Philosophy of Psychedelics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3 (The phenomenology of psychedelic therapy), pp. 39–62.
• Subjective Effect Index: https://www.effectindex.com/
ii Presentation:
• Davis, A.K., Clifton, J. M., Weaver, E.G., Hurwitz, E.1S., Johnson, M. W., Griffiths, R. R. (2020). Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 34(9), 1008–1020.*
4. Psychedelic phenomenology, part II
i Main reading:
• Yaden, D. B., Newberg, A. B. (2022). The Varieties of Spiritual Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 12 (Mystical experiences: Unity and ego dissolution), pp. 224–248.
ii Presentation:
• Shannon, B. (2002). The Antipodes of the Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 14 (Time), pp. 226–242.*
5. Neural and cognitive mechanisms of psychedelics, part I
i Main reading:
• van Elk, M., Yaden, D. B. (2022). Pharmacological, neural, and psychological mechanisms underlying psychedelics: A critical review. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 140, 104793.
• Vargas, V.V., Dunlap, L.E., Dong, C. et al. (2023). Psychedelics promote neuroplasticity through the activation of intracellular 5-HT2A receptors. Science, 379 (6633), 700–706.
ii Presentation:
• Doss, M.K., Považan, M., Rosenberg, M.D. et al. (2021). Psilocybin therapy increases cognitive and neural flexibility in patients with major depressive disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 11, 574.*
6. Neural and cognitive mechanisms of psychedelics, part II
i Main reading:
• Carhart-Harris, R.L., Friston, K.J. (2019). REBUS and the anarchic brain: Toward a unified model of the brain action of psychedelics. Pharmacological Reviews, 71(3), 316–344.
ii Presentation:
• Laukkonen, R.E., Slagter, H.A. (2021). From many to (n)one: Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 128, 199–207.*
7. Neural and cognitive mechanisms of psychedelics, part III
i Main reading:
• Doss, M.K., Madden, M.B., Gaddis, A. et al. (2022). Models of psychedelic drug action: modulation of cortical-subcortical circuits. Brain, 145(2), 441–456.
ii Presentation:
• Herzog, R., Mediano, P.A.M., Rosas, F.E. et al. (2023). A whole-brain model of the neural entropy increase elicited by psychedelic drugs. Scientific Reports, 13, 6244.
8. Psychedelic experience and the nature of Self, part I
i Main reading:
• Dennett, D. (1992). The self as a center of narrative gravity. In F. Kessel, P. Cole and D. Johnson (eds). Self and Consciousness: Multiple Perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
ii Presentation:
• Hohwy, J., Michael, J. (2017). Why should any body have a self? In F. de Vignemont, A. Alsmith (eds). The Subject’s Matter: Self-consciousness and the Body (pp. 363–392). Cambridge (MA): The MIT Press.*
9. Psychedelic experience and the nature of Self, part II
i Main reading:
• Letheby, C. (2021). Philosophy of Psychedelics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 7 (Unbinding the self), pp. 39–62.
ii Presentation:
• Millière, R. (2020). The varieties of selflessness. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 1(I), 1–41.
10. Psychedelic therapy, part I
i No main readings that week.
ii Presentations:
• Duerler, P., Schilbach, L., Stämpfli, P. et al. (2020). LSD-induced increases in social adaptation to opinions similar to one’s own are associated with stimulation of serotonin receptors. Scientific Reports, 10, 12181.
• Noorani, T., Garcia-Romeu, A., Swift, T. C., Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W. (2018). Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 756–769.
• Davis, A.K., Barrett, F.S., Griffiths, R.R., (2020). Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 15, 39–45.
11. Psychedelic therapy, part II
i Main reading:
• Letheby, C. Philosophy of Psychedelics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 4 (The mechanisms of psychedelic therapy), pp. 62–80.
ii Presentation:
• Uddin, L.Q. (2021). Cognitive and behavioural flexibility: neural mechanisms and clinical considerations. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 22, 167–179.
12. Epistemology of psychedelic experience, part I
i Teksty główne:
• Paul, L.A. (2014). Transformative Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 1 and 2 (Becoming a Vampire, Transformative Choice), pp. 1–52.
i Presentation:
• Timmermann, C., Kettner, H., Letheby, C., Roseman, L., Rosas, F.E., Carhart-Harris, R.L. (2021). Psychedelics alter metaphysical beliefs. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 22166.
13. Epistemology of psychedelic experience, part II
i Main reading:
• Letheby, C. (2021). Philosophy of Psychedelics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 8 (Epistemology), pp. 160–195.
ii Presentation:
• McGovern, H.T., Grimmer, H. J., Doss, M., Hutchinson, B., Timmermann, C., Lyon, A., Corlett, P. R., Laukkonen, R. (2023). The power of insight: How psychedelics solicit false beliefs. PsyArXiv preprint: https://psyarxiv.com/97gjw/
14. Summary