Papers by LUIS E D U A R D O LUNA
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2003
An early theoretical analysis supposed changes in hemispheric integration as the basis of altered... more An early theoretical analysis supposed changes in hemispheric integration as the basis of altered state of consciousness induced by psychoactive drugs. Brain imaging studies revealed right cortical activation after administration of hallucinogens. Recent studies on binocular rivalry suggest that interhemispheric switching is the neural substrate of the perceptual oscillations observed during dichoptic stimulus presentation. The current study tested perceptual alternation in ceremonial participants, who ingested the South American hallucinogenic beverage ayahuasca, to examine the claim that there might be changes in interhemispheric function under the influence of hallucinogens. Ingestion of ayahuasca resulted in a decrease of rivalry alternation rates, increased length of one percept and there was evidence of phenomenal fusion. The findings are in line with results of brain activation studies and support the concept of interhemispheric fusion in altered states of consciousness.
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Psychopharmacology, 2004
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Encyclopedia of Global Religion, 2012
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Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02791072 2005 10399798, Sep 7, 2011
The current study examined QEEG power and coherence of ayahuasca experiences with two experienced... more The current study examined QEEG power and coherence of ayahuasca experiences with two experienced participants in a Brazilian jungle setting. An exploratory case series design was adopted for naturalistic field research. EEGs recorded during visual imagery was compared to eyes-closed baselines. The most important findings were increases in global EEG coherence in the 36-44 Hz and 50-64 Hz frequency bands for both subjects. Widely distributed cortical hyper-coherence seems reasonable given the intense synesthesia during ayahuasca experiences. Other findings include increased modal EEG alpha frequency and global power decreases across the cortex in most frequency bands, which concur with the EEG of psychedelics literature. Exploratory analysis revealed the usefulness of analyzing single Hz bins over the standard wide-band analysis. The discovery-oriented naturalistic approach developed for this study resulted in potentially important findings. We believe that finding increases in global gamma coherence during peak psychedelic experiences might contribute to the discussion of binding theory. Also, in light of recent research with gamma coherence during advanced meditative conditions, our findings might further the comparison of shamanic psychedelic practices with meditation.
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Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica: a Magyar Pszichofarmakológiai Egyesület lapja = official journal of the Hungarian Association of Psychopharmacology
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Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica: a Magyar Pszichofarmakológiai Egyesület lapja = official journal of the Hungarian Association of Psychopharmacology
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Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica : a Magyar Pszichofarmakológiai Egyesület lapja = official journal of the Hungarian Association of Psychopharmacology, 2006
The prevailing neuroscientific paradigm considers information processing within the central nervo... more The prevailing neuroscientific paradigm considers information processing within the central nervous system as occurring through hierarchically organized and interconnected neural networks. The hierarchy of neural networks doesn't end at the neuroaxonal level; it incorporates subcellular mechanisms as well. When the size of the hierarchical components reaches the nanometer range and the number of elements exceeds that of the neuroaxonal system, an interface emerges for a possible transition between neurochemical and quantum physical events. "Signal nonlocality", accessed by means of quantum entanglement is an essential feature of the quantum physical domain. The presented interface may imply that some manifestations of altered states of consciousness, unconscious/conscious shifts have quantum origin with significant psychosomatic implications. Healing methods based on altered states of consciousness and common in spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific e...
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Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica : a Magyar Pszichofarmakológiai Egyesület lapja = official journal of the Hungarian Association of Psychopharmacology, 2006
Very recently, after a long-lasting, worldwide moratorium on research of hallucinogenic agents, a... more Very recently, after a long-lasting, worldwide moratorium on research of hallucinogenic agents, a good number of advanced countries have been revising their position, and start to approve testing the physiological and therapeutic effects of hallucinogens in human subjects. The purpose of this article is to review safety information available in the literature on hallucinogen use, and sort out those data from the reported complications of their abuse. Because of prohibitory regulations of the last 35 years, there are difficulties in achieving this kind of evaluation. Our approach has to be broad, and at times retrospective, in contrast to the well-controlled, focused, prospective design of the premarketing trials of legal drugs. The article summarizes the analyses in anticipation of supportive regulatory changes for the use of hallucinogens in well controlled studies and strictly supervised clinical trials. adverse effects, ayahuasca, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, hallucinogenic agents, ib...
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Psychopharmacology, 2004
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Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2012
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Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2005
The current study examined QEEG power and coherence of ayahuasca experiences with two experienced... more The current study examined QEEG power and coherence of ayahuasca experiences with two experienced participants in a Brazilian jungle setting. An exploratory case series design was adopted for naturalistic field research. EEGs recorded during visual imagery was compared to eyes-closed baselines. The most important findings were increases in global EEG coherence in the 36-44 Hz and 50-64 Hz frequency bands for both subjects. Widely distributed cortical hyper-coherence seems reasonable given the intense synesthesia during ayahuasca experiences. Other findings include increased modal EEG alpha frequency and global power decreases across the cortex in most frequency bands, which concur with the EEG of psychedelics literature. Exploratory analysis revealed the usefulness of analyzing single Hz bins over the standard wide-band analysis. The discovery-oriented naturalistic approach developed for this study resulted in potentially important findings. We believe that finding increases in global gamma coherence during peak psychedelic experiences might contribute to the discussion of binding theory. Also, in light of recent research with gamma coherence during advanced meditative conditions, our findings might further the comparison of shamanic psychedelic practices with meditation.
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Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2003
An early theoretical analysis supposed changes in hemispheric integration as the basis of altered... more An early theoretical analysis supposed changes in hemispheric integration as the basis of altered state of consciousness induced by psychoactive drugs. Brain imaging studies revealed right cortical activation after administration of hallucinogens. Recent studies on binocular rivalry suggest that interhemispheric switching is the neural substrate of the perceptual oscillations observed during dichoptic stimulus presentation. The current study tested perceptual alternation in ceremonial participants, who ingested the South American hallucinogenic beverage ayahuasca, to examine the claim that there might be changes in interhemispheric function under the influence of hallucinogens. Ingestion of ayahuasca resulted in a decrease of rivalry alternation rates, increased length of one percept and there was evidence of phenomenal fusion. The findings are in line with results of brain activation studies and support the concept of interhemispheric fusion in altered states of consciousness.
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Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1984
In the city of Iquitos and its vicinity there is even today a rich tradition of folk medicine. Pr... more In the city of Iquitos and its vicinity there is even today a rich tradition of folk medicine. Practitioners, some of whom qualify as shamans, make an important contribution to the psychosomatic health of the inhabitants of this area. Among them there are those called vegetalistas or plant specialists and who use a series of plants called doctores or plant teachers. It is their belief that if they fulfill certain conditions of isolation and follow a prescribed diet, these plants are able to "teach" them how to diagnose and cure illnesses, how to perform other shamanic tasks, usually through magic melodies or icaros, and how to use medicinal plants. Four shamans were questioned about the nature and identity of these magic plants, what are the dietary prescriptions to be followed, how the transmission of shamanic power takes place, the nature of their helping spirits, and the function of the magic melodies or icaros given to them by the plant teachers.
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Ayahuasca, a psychotropic beverage used by numerous indigenous groups of the Upper Amazon, the Or... more Ayahuasca, a psychotropic beverage used by numerous indigenous groups of the Upper Amazon, the Orinoco Basin and the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador, has an important role in their medico-religious, artistic and social lives. Its use was later incorporated in healing ceremonies among the mestizo population of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. This chapter presents an overview of such uses among some indigenous groups as well as that of contemporary practitioners in the Peruvian Amazon region.
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Papers by LUIS E D U A R D O LUNA