On May 20th, 2021, Andrea Luppi (MSc, PhD Cand.) will discuss his own research on altered states of consciousness and the role of psychedelics in this context. Abstract: A fundamental challenge of modern neuroscience is to understand how the neurobiology and function of the human brain support conscious experience. The brain is a paradigmatic example of a complex system, and different perturbations of its precise functioning can serve as a path towards loss of consciousness – from widespread neuroanatomical injury associated with disorders of consciousness, to the transient perturbations of ne ..read more

In this lecture, Chris Timmermann will be talking about his paper “Towards Psychedelic Apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations.” A striking feature of psychedelics is their ability to increase attribution of truth and meaningfulness to specific contents and ideas experienced, which may persist long after psychedelic effects have subsided. We propose that processes underlying conferral of meaning and truth in psychedelic experiences may act as a double-edged sword: while these may drive important therapeutic bene ..read more

On April 8th, we will give a lecture about APRA. Are you interested in who’s behind the association, what our aims, ambitions and goals are and how you can get involved? Are you curious, have you recently become a member or are you thinking about becoming one? Then this lecture is for you! Join us during this introductory event for everyone interested in APRA! Where: Online via Zoom (link will be shared soon) When: Thursday, 8th of April at 19:00 CET Looking forward to seeing you there ..read more

In this journal club, Ruben Laukkonen will discuss his recent paper “From many to one: Meditation and the plasticity of the predictive mind”. Abstract How profoundly can humans change their own minds? In this paper we offer a unifying account of meditation under the predictive processing view of living organisms. We start from relatively simple axioms. First, the brain is an organ that serves to predict based on past experience, both phylogenetic and ontogenetic. Second, meditation serves to bring one closer to the here and now by disengaging from anticipatory processes. We propose that practi ..read more

By Alberto Cantizani López MA Student of Medical Anthropology at UvA In the last years, psychedelic science has regained relevance in the field of psychiatric treatments with a radical idea. Research is showing that altered states of mind induced by psychoactive substances can in fact be healing for those suffering from mental health disorders. But what if it is not about the subjective experience? What if we could produce versions of these psychedelic substances with the same medicinal properties, yet without any psychoactive effects? Some researchers and pharmaceutical developers are putting ..read more

On February 13th, 2021, Christian Greer (PhD) will give a lecture on the topic of his dissertation: “Psychedelic Militancy in the 1980s”.The psychedelic dimension of religious experience occupies a marginal position in the scholarship of American culture. For the last seven decades, scholars have viewed the psychedelicist church movement as, variously, an excuse for taking illegal drugs, an inauthentic mode of religious fellowship, and a purely oppositional “counter-culture.” More recent scholarship challenges these interpretations by emphasizing the legitimacy of the experiences occasioned by ..read more

Opinion. Written by Marco Aqil (PhD Cand., APRA founder). A recent viewpoint paper from the Griffiths Lab delivers a cautionary note on some trends which, according to the authors, might jeopardise the ongoing development of the psychedelic Renaissance in science and medicine. The authors provide a warning about the necessity of keeping psychedelic research as unbiased as possible, and distinct from psychedelic advocacy. In a time where hype and enthusiasm for the undeniable potential of psychedelics risk creating a new “bubble”, this is a much needed and sobering perspective, that anyone even ..read more

In this journal club, Aidan Lyon (PhD) will present a new approach to philosophy, which he calls psychedelic philosophy. What makes this approach to philosophy distinctive is that it deploys what he call psychedelic methods for attaining wisdom. These methods stand in contrast to those of other approaches to philosophy — such as analytic philosophy, which relies on analytic methods (logic, conceptual analysis, etc.) — while also complementing them to form together an integrated and comprehensive approach to philosophy. Aidan will explain in detail what psychedelic methods are and how they can ..read more

In this Journal Club, Steven Voges, currently a PhD candidate at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, will present the recent paper “Oxytocin-dependent reopening of a social reward learning critical period with MDMA”. You can use this link to read a summary of the full article. Where: Online (Zoom address communicated via members email newsletter). This is a free event for APRA members. When: Friday November 20th 2020, 6PM Consider supporting APRA by becoming a member. Membership has several benefits (free events, monthly newsletter), but most importantly, since the activities of APRA a ..read more

In this Journal Club, Dr. Rudolf Faust, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, will present the recent paper “Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation” (Vesuna et al., Nature, 2020). See this link for a summary of the full article. Where: Online (Zoom address communicated via members email newsletter). This is a free event for APRA members. When: Friday October 30th 2020, 6PM Consider supporting APRA by becoming a member. Membership has several benefits (free events, monthly newsletter), but most importantly, since the activities of APRA ..read more