Psychopharmacology
September 1, 2020
Valerie Van Mulukom, Ruairi E Patterson, Michiel van Elk
61 citations
Classical serotonergic psychedelic (CSP) experiences that induce awe, but not ego dissolution, are linked to lower maladaptive narcissism through increased feelings of connectedness and affective empathetic drive. In a survey of 414 participants describing their most awe-inspiring psychedelic experience, those reporting more awe showed higher connectedness and empathy, which in turn predicted reduced exploitative-entitled narcissism. This relationship persisted after controlling for sensation-seeking. No evidence was found that ego dissolution produced the same effects. The findings suggest CSPs may have therapeutic potential for disorders involving deficits in connectedness and empathy, such as pathological narcissism, with awe-driven connectedness as a key mechanism.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 24, 2021
Martha Newson, Ragini Khurana, Freya Cazorla et al.
48 citations
Engaging in the '4Ds'—dance, drums, sleep deprivation, and drugs—at raves and illegal free parties is associated with personal transformation when the experience is awe-inspiring, particularly for people with open personalities. Without awe or a ritual context, the 4Ds are linked to a lack of personal growth or anomie. A structural equation model showed that personal transformation following awe-inspiring raves was associated with bonding to other ravers and prosocial behavior toward that group at a cost to self, but not with bonding to humanity. The findings suggest that the 4Ds in a ritualized environment can help build meaningful social bonds with positive behavioral outcomes.
Neuroscience of consciousness
January 1, 2026
Valerie Van Mulukom
Consciousness can be understood as a dynamic continuum between two self-states: a reflective, narrative mode supported by the default mode network, and an experiential, affective-salience mode anchored in the salience network (anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex). The experiential self-state integrates interoceptive and exteroceptive signals into a coherent, non-propositional sense of being-here-as-subject, with sustained non-reflective meta-awareness. Within predictive processing, this state involves reduced precision-weighting of high-level self-referential priors, governed by dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and serotonergic mechanisms. This framework accounts for individual differences in mindfulness and absorption, and for conditions with dysregulated salience processing. Self-transcendent experiences—absorption, meditation, awe, mystical or religious experiences—are expressions of the experiential self-state.