Psychoactive Substances and Paranormal Phenomena: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between psychoactive substances and so-called paranormal phenomena falling within the study of parapsychology. It is primarily concerned with extrasensory perception (ESP)-telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance-as well as out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and near-death experiences (NDEs). Psychokinesis (PK), aura vision, encounter experiences, and sleep paralysis only make a very limited contribution to this review as they are seldom related to psychoactive drugs within the parapsychological literature. The paper borrows widely, but by no means exhaustively, from parapsychology as well as transpersonal studies, anthropology, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and neurobiology, particularly neurochemistry. It is organized into neurochemical models of paranormal experience (section 1), field reports of intentional and spontaneous phenomena incorporating anthropological, historical and clinical cases, and personal accounts (section 2), surveys of paranormal belief and experience (section 3), experimental research (section 4), and a methodological critique of the experimental research with recommendations for further work (section 5).

The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review

“…These divergent chemical compounds act primarily on different neurochemical systems to each other and yet they all elicit profound changes in consciousness and somewhat similar phenomenological syndromes, such as the experience of synaesthesia. Given that there are currently around 350 known psychedelic chemicals and potentially 2000 untested ones (Luke, 2012), all with different modes of action, understanding exactly what neurochemical processes are responsible for the different experiential effects is a complex conundrum that remains to be disentangled by psychopharmacologists (Presti, 2011). Nevertheless, systemic taxonomical research that relates specific chemicals to particular experiences could illuminate the neurochemistry involved (Luke et al, 2012).…”

O fenômeno da precognição sob o ponto de vista do conhecimento e de suas mídias

“…Como os demais autores, Luke (2012) Em Jung, portanto, a discussão sobre a precognição sairia do âmbito da retrocausalidade e passaria assim para o âmbito da simultaneidade de tudo.…”

“…Poucas menções sobre mídia ou mediação no contexto dos fenômenos anômalos foram encontradas nos artigos de Bem (2011), Luke (2012 e Radin e Borges (2009).…”

Science, Spirituality, and Ayahuasca: The Problem of Consciousness and Spiritual Ontologies in the Academy

“…More recently, Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley () highlighted the problem of ethnographers ignoring paranormal phenomena. Harold Ellens () wrote along similar lines about journals devoted to religion, spirituality, and theology, and David Luke () observed the same problem in clinical and anthropological reports on psychoactive substances.…”