Pattern breaking: a complex systems approach to psychedelic medicine
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Author(s)
Hipolito, Ines
Mago, Jonas
Rosas, Fernando E
Carhart-Harris, Robin
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated the potential of psychedelic therapy for mental health care. However, the psychological experience underlying its therapeutic effects remains poorly understood. This paper proposes a framework that suggests psychedelics act as destabilizers, both psychologically and neurophysiologically. Drawing on the ‘entropic brain’ hypothesis and the ‘RElaxed Beliefs Under pSychedelics’ model, this paper focuses on the richness of psychological experience. Through a complex systems theory perspective, we suggest that psychedelics destabilize fixed points or attractors, breaking reinforced patterns of thinking and behaving. Our approach explains how psychedelic-induced increases in brain entropy destabilize neurophysiological set points and lead to new conceptualizations of psychedelic psychotherapy. These insights have important implications for risk mitigation and treatment optimization in psychedelic medicine, both during the peak psychedelic experience and during the subacute period of potential recovery.
Date Issued
2023
Date Acceptance
2023-06-08
Citation
Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2023, 2023 (1)
ISSN
2057-2107
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Journal / Book Title
Neuroscience of Consciousness
Volume
2023
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which
permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which
permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:001023755900001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=a2bf6146997ec60c407a63945d4e92bb
Subjects
BRAIN ACTIVITY
complex systems theory
CONNECTIVITY
EARLY-WARNING SIGNALS
entropic brain
ENTROPY
free-energy principle
FREE-ENERGY PRINCIPLE
INTERVENTIONS
LSD
MODEL
psychedelics
psychological experience
Psychology
Psychology, Biological
SELF-ORGANIZATION
Social Sciences
TRANSITIONS
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
niad017
Date Publish Online
2023-07-06