Restructuring insight: An integrative review of insight in problem-solving, meditation, psychotherapy, delusions and psychedelics

Abstract

Occasionally a solution arrives as a sudden understanding - an insight. Insight has been considered as an “extra” ingredient of creative thinking and problem-solving. Here we propose that insight is a central process in seemingly distinct areas of research. Drawing on literature from a variety of fields, we show that besides being a common topic in problem-solving literature, insight is also a core component in psychotherapy, essential for some forms of meditation, a key process underlying the emergence of primary delusions in schizophrenia, and a factor that drives the positive outcomes of psychedelic therapy. Our goal is to bridge these different views and research traditions. In each case, we discuss the prerequisites and consequences of insight. We examine evidence for common prerequisites of insight experiences, comprising a tension within knowledge structures and a plastic state of mind. We discuss a framework for explaining insight across these fields and highlight the clinical relevance of studying insight. This integrative review provides a better understanding of insight, a central feature of our minds.

Psychedelics as potential catalysts of scientific creativity and insight

“…Synthetic thinking has been associated with the occurrence of sudden insight, characterised by "a mental restructuring of acquired information, from which new explicit knowledge can be drawn" (Craig et al, 2018) and through which "previously unseen and unexpected connections suddenly reveal themselves to the mind" (Langley et al, 1987). A plastic mind state and a tension within knowledge structures have been proposed to be common prerequisites of insight generation (Tulver et al, 2021). Breakthroughs in science often occur when a novel connection is made between existing concepts previously perceived as being distinct or isolated (Scheffer et al, 2015).…”

Psychedelic replications in virtual reality and their potential as a therapeutic instrument: an open-label feasibility study

“…Baseline EST-Q2 depression subscale results were M = 14.82 (SD = 2.82) and showed good consistency with the MADRS questionnaire results (r = 0.66, p = 0.010). There was a significant decrease in EST-Q2 scores at the two week follow-up (M = 10.73, SD = 3.66; paired samples t-test, t( 10 One important facet of subjective experiences that could be instrumental for therapeutic benefits is the insight experience 5,32,40,41 . The Psychological Insight Questionnaire 40 Another aspect of subjective experience that has been suggested to underlie the beneficial effects of psychedelic therapy is ego dissolution 32,38,114 , measured here by the Ego-Dissolution Inventory 109 (EDI).…”

“…Letting go of control and allowing oneself to experience anything that comes up in a psychedelic experience could allow more difficult content to reach consciousness, shorten the challenging episodes and foster integration and healthy interpretation of difficult content 128,129 . This concept of 'letting go' is a central element of psychedelic 86,129,130 and other forms of therapy 131,132 , ritual use of psychedelics 133 as well as an important part of meditative practices 74,[134][135][136] (see also 41 ). Psyrreal mimics the oscillating and overwhelming intensity of psychedelic experiences 62 .…”

“…Unusual, infinitely vast, and even surreal stimuli common to such experiences might result in emotions of surprise and awe, where the novel stimulus needs to be accommodated into existing cognitive structures 140 . The necessity for accommodating vastly different and novel stimuli would require updating the existing mental framework 140,141 and thereby lead to a state of plasticity or 'insightfulness' 41 . This could allow the subject to gain different perspectives, revise pathological beliefs, and come to new insights 122,141,142 .…”

“…The alternative proposal is that subjective experiences hold the key to the success of psychedelic interventions 32,33 . According to the latter view, therapeutic success is caused by the subjective experiences elicited by these substances, such as mystical 8,34,35 , ego-dissolution 32,[36][37][38] or insight experiences 5,32,34,[39][40][41] . If psychedelic-induced subjective experiences underlie their therapeutic effects, then it should be possible to achieve at least some of the benefits of psychedelic therapy without the substances themselves 42 simply by emulating specific aspects of psychedelic experiences.…”