Due to advances in resuscitation and critical care, many people are surviving near-death experiences. Survivors' recalled experiences are not consistent with hallucinations, but instead, follow a specific narrative arc involving perception.
Reduced activation of gamma waves in the brain was associated with the emergence of psychosis symptoms prior to the full-blown disorder appearing.
Sleep deprivation increases the levels of serotonin 2A neurotransmitter receptors within 6 - 8 hours. Abnormal serotonin 2A receptor function is associated with hallucinations, cognitive impairment, and is linked to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
Researchers have created the first body map of sensations experienced during hallucinations in people experiencing psychosis.
Schizophrenia itself is associated with loss of excitation, but hallucinations and other symptoms of the disorder are caused by a loss of synaptic inhibition.
Researchers find a region of the brain stem called the periaqueductal gray may mediate religiosity and spirituality in humans.
Pseudo-Hallucinations: Why Some People See More Vivid Mental Images Than Others – Test Yourself Here
Study reveals people who experience intense visual imagery during a Ganzflicker test have naturally lower frequency rhythms in the visual cortex, making them more susceptible to pseudo-hallucinations.
PsychLight, a newly developed genetically encoded fluorescent sensor, helped researchers identify a psychedelic compound that acts on beneficial neural pathways to treat psychiatric disorders without the hallucinogenic effect.
Mouse study reveals elevated dopamine levels preceded hallucination-like events, and artificially boosting dopamine levels induced more hallucination-like events. The behavioral effects could be blocked by administering haloperidol, an antipsychotic which blocks dopamine. The study sheds light on potential new treatments for psychotic disorders marked by hallucinations.
Loneliness, stress, and social isolation as a result of COVID-19 exacerbated and intensified visual hallucinations in blind people with Charles Bonnet Syndrome by 56%.
Inducing hallucinations using visual stimuli in a lab setting enables more objective and reliable testing.
Hallucinations and delusions share a common neurobiological mechanism while simultaneously depending on symptom-specific pathways.
