Effects of expectations and sensory unreliability on voice detection - A preregistered study.

The phenomenon of "hearing voices" can be found not only in psychotic disorders, but also in the general population, with individuals across cultures reporting auditory perceptions of supernatural beings. In our preregistered study, we investigated a possible mechanism of such experiences, grounded in the predictive processing model of agency detection. We predicted that in a signal detection task, expecting less or more voices than actually present would drive the response bias toward a more conservative and liberal response strategy, respectively.

[Therapeutic applications of classical serotonergic psyche-delics: neurobiological mechanisms and neural networks].

Background: Psychedelics have received renewed scientific attention in recent decades because of their potential to induce long-term changes in behaviour and cognition with potential therapeutic applications in various psychiatric indications.

Aim: To provide a brief overview of the neurobiological action of classical serotonergic psychedelics, their impact on neural networks and implications for potential clinical applications.

Method: We provide a non-exhaustive review of the current literature by subsequently and thematically outlining: 1.

History repeating: guidelines to address common problems in psychedelic science.

Research in the last decade has expressed considerable optimism about the clinical potential of psychedelics for the treatment of mental disorders. This optimism is reflected in an increase in research papers, investments by pharmaceutical companies, patents, media coverage, as well as political and legislative changes. However, psychedelic science is facing serious challenges that threaten the validity of core findings and raise doubt regarding clinical efficacy and safety.

Pharmacological, neural, and psychological mechanisms underlying psychedelics: A critical review.

This paper provides a critical review of several possible mechanisms at different levels of analysis underlying the effects and therapeutic potential of psychedelics. At the (1) biochemical level, psychedelics primarily affect the 5-HT receptor, increase neuroplasticity, offer a critical period for social reward learning, and have anti-inflammatory properties. At the (2) neural level, psychedelics have been associated with reduced efficacy of thalamo-cortical filtering, the loosening of top-down predictive signaling and an increased sensitivity to bottom-up prediction errors, and activation of the claustro-cortical-circuit.

Ayahuasca and Public Health II: Health Status in a Large Sample of Ayahuasca-Ceremony Participants in the Netherlands.

Ayahuasca is a plant decoction in traditional Amazonian medicine. Its ritual use has been internationalized, leading to policy challenges that countries should address. This study evaluates the impact of regular ayahuasca ceremony participation on health by assessing the health status of 377 participants in ayahuasca ceremonies in the Netherlands using validated health indicators.

The Einstein effect provides global evidence for scientific source credibility effects and the influence of religiosity.

People tend to evaluate information from reliable sources more favourably, but it is unclear exactly how perceivers' worldviews interact with this source credibility effect. In a large and diverse cross-cultural sample (N = 10,195 from 24 countries), we presented participants with obscure, meaningless statements attributed to either a spiritual guru or a scientist. We found a robust global source credibility effect for scientific authorities, which we dub 'the Einstein effect': across all 24 countries and all levels of religiosity, scientists held greater authority than spiritual gurus.

Psilocybin microdosing does not affect emotion-related symptoms and processing: A preregistered field and lab-based study.

Background: Microdoses of psychedelics (i.e. a sub-hallucinogenic dose taken every third day) can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress according to anecdotal reports and observational studies.

Social Adaptation in Context: The Differential Role of Religiosity and Self-Esteem in Vulnerable vs. Non-vulnerable Populations - A Registered Report Study.

There is evidence that religiosity and self-esteem are positively related, while self-esteem and religiosity in turn predict successful social adaptation. Moreover, self-esteem has been shown to be directly related to social adaptation in vulnerable contexts. In this registered report study, we tested the hypothesis that religiosity has a positive influence on social adaptation for people living in vulnerable contexts and that self-esteem is a mediator of this relationship.

Awe arises in reaction to exceeded rather than disconfirmed expectancies.

Awe is a fascinating emotion, associated with positive consequences such as greater prosociality, generosity, and epistemic openness. Unfortunately, in spite of the weighty consequences of awe, the exact way in which it arises, and what it entails, is still a puzzle. Particularly puzzling is the question of whether awe is the result of expectancy violation.

Working with Weirdness: A Response to "Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science".

In response to a recent call to rid psychedelic science of the concept of mystical experience, we argue that acknowledging the varieties and weirdness of psychedelic experiences should be at the heart of any research program on this topic. We highlight the rich tradition and scientific tools for studying mystical-type experiences, their relevance for understanding the therapeutic effects of psychedelics, as well as the need for more diversity in the experiences and participants included in this research.

Bacterial diversity and predicted enzymatic function in a multipurpose surface water system - from wastewater effluent discharges to drinking water production.

Background: Rivers and lakes are used for multiple purposes such as for drinking water (DW) production, recreation, and as recipients of wastewater from various sources. The deterioration of surface water quality with wastewater is well-known, but less is known about the bacterial community dynamics in the affected surface waters. Understanding the bacterial community characteristics -from the source of contamination, through the watershed to the DW production process-may help safeguard human health and the environment.

Effects of psilocybin microdosing on awe and aesthetic experiences: a preregistered field and lab-based study.

There is an increased societal trend to engage in microdosing, in which small sub-hallucinogenic amounts of psychedelics are consumed on a regular basis. Following subjective reports that microdosing enhances the experience of nature and art, in the present study we set out to study the effects of psilocybin microdosing on feelings of awe and art perception. In this preregistered combined field- and lab-based study, participants took part in a microdosing workshop after which they volunteered to self-administer a psilocybin microdose or a placebo for three consecutive weeks, while the condition was kept blind to the participants and researchers.

A predictive processing framework of tool use.

In this paper I introduce the theory of predictive processing as a unifying conceptual framework to account for the human ability to use and innovate tools. I explain the basic concepts of predictive processing and illustrate how this framework accounts for the development of tool use in young infants and for findings in the neuropsychological and neuroscientific literature. Then, I argue that the predictive processing model needs to be complemented with a functional-evolutionary perspective, according to which the developmental and neurocognitive mechanisms should be understood in relation to the adaptive function that tools subserve.

Highlighting the promise of qPCR-based environmental monitoring: response of the ribosomal RNA:DNA ratio of calanoid copepods to toxic cyanobacteria.

Calanoid copepods are integral to aquatic food webs and may drive the bioaccumulation of toxins and heavy metals, spread of infectious diseases, and occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in freshwater aquatic systems. However, interrelationships between copepod and cyanobacterial population dynamics and ecophysiology remain unclear. Insights into these relationships are important to aquatic resource management, as they may help guide mitigation efforts.

The role of meta-analysis and preregistration in assessing the evidence for cleansing effects.

Lee and Schwarz interpret meta-analytic research and replication studies as providing evidence for the robustness of cleansing effects. We argue that the currently available evidence is unconvincing because (a) publication bias and the opportunistic use of researcher degrees of freedom appear to have inflated meta-analytic effect size estimates, and (b) preregistered replications failed to find any evidence of cleansing effects.

[Neuroscientific and psychological explanations for the therapeutic effects of psychedelics].

Psychedelics have a strong therapeutic potential for the treatment of biomedical disorders, but the working mechanisms underlying psychedelics are only poorly understood.
AIM: To discuss different mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of classic psychedelics.
METHOD: To make a distinction between different levels of explanation: the pharmacological, the neurocognitive and the psychological level.

Religious belief and cognitive conflict sensitivity: A preregistered fMRI study.

In the current preregistered fMRI study, we investigated the relationship between religiosity and behavioral and neural mechanisms of conflict processing, as a conceptual replication of the study by Inzlicht et al., (2009). Participants (N=193) performed a gender-Stroop task and afterwards completed standardized measures to assess their religiosity.

Broadening Your Mind to Include Others: The relationship between serotonergic psychedelic experiences and maladaptive narcissism.

Rationale: Recent research has shown that classical serotonergic psychedelic (CSP) drugs may be used to ameliorate certain health issues and disorders. Here we hypothesised that CSP experiences, through their ability to induce awe and ego-dissolution, may result in a reduction of maladaptive narcissistic personality traits, such as a strong sense of entitlement and lack of empathy.

Objectives: Our objective was to investigate whether high levels of awe and ego dissolution during recent CSP experiences are associated with currently lower levels of maladaptive narcissism.

Experimentally induced awe does not affect implicit and explicit time perception.

The effects of emotion on time perception are elusive: depending on the intensity, valence and arousal of the situation, implicit and explicit time perception seems to slow down or speed up. Awe is a strong and powerful positive emotion that is typically elicited in response to vast stimuli and therefore inducing awe may be optimally suited for studying the relationship between emotion and time perception. In two studies we investigated whether the experience of awe would result in an expanded perception of time.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: clinical safety and performance data.

: Patients with severe aortic stenosis and regurgitation who are inoperable or at high-risk for surgery can be treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature of TAVR and reported clinical and performance outcomes. : A total of 16 devices, described in 204 articles describing clinical and performance outcomes, were included.

The relationship between individual differences in gray matter volume and religiosity and mystical experiences: A preregistered voxel-based morphometry study.

The neural substrates of religious belief and experience are an intriguing though contentious topic. Here, we had the unique opportunity to establish the relation between validated measures of religiosity and gray matter volume in a large sample of participants (N = 211). In this registered report, we conducted a confirmatory voxel-based morphometry analysis to test three central hypotheses regarding the relationship between religiosity and mystical experiences and gray matter volume.

Absorption and spiritual experience: A review of evidence and potential mechanisms.

Some people seem to have a 'talent' for spiritual experience: they readily sense the presence of supernatural beings, receive special messages from God, and report intense feelings of self-transcendence, awe and wonder. Here we review converging strands of evidence to argue that the trait of 'absorption' captures a general proclivity for having spiritual experiences. Participants scoring highly on the Tellegen Absorption Scale report vivid experiences of hearing God's voice during prayer, intense mystical experiences in response to psychedelics or placebo brain-stimulation, and strong feelings of presence and transcendence when confronted with natural beauty, virtual reality, or music.