Thesis (Ph. D.)--Concordia University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 273-305).

This dissertation examines the various ways in which the experience of psychoactive drugs such as marijuana, LSD, and other substances influenced the development of psychedelic music on the West Coast during the Sixties. The first chapter of this work chronicles the evolution of mainstream America's understanding of psychoactive drugs. It focuses, in particular, on the role of mid-century figures such as Aldous Huxley, Ken Kesey, and Timothy Leary in disseminating the psychedelic paradigm, which held that certain psychoactive substances were capable of helping individuals gain a greater understanding of themselves, others, and the nature of existence. The second chapter of this work explores how the term "psychedelic," and the experiences the term espouses, came to be used as musical descriptors. It specifically details the various ways that amateur participation, musical eclecticism, and technological advances resulted in highly innovative works that provided surreal experiences similar to the drugs that shared their name. Chapter three explores self-report and laboratory research concerning the subjective effects of marijuana and LSD on the experience of sound, music, and creativity. It also presents new findings from a self-report study of 181 participants, which examined the various ways that marijuana affects the appreciation of specific musical sounds. The fourth and final chapter performs a psycho-aesthetic analysis of three examples of psychedelic music using the findings discussed in chapter three and theories from the field of music cognition. It posits various ways in which a direct relationship can be appreciated between the subjective effects of certain psychedelic substances and the experience of psychedelic music. In some instances, it asserts that psychedelic music can be understood to be emulating the effects of substances through its incorporation of sounds and musical structures that are emblematic of the specific effects of these drugs. In others, it suggests that these drugs enhance the experience of psychedelic music by playing upon the altered sensibilities of listeners who were experiencing its sounds under their effects. / 2017-05-01T00:00:00Z

La musique psychédélique britannique est née grâce à la conjonction de quatre facteurs : 1. Un contexte socio-économique et culturel extrêmement favorable. 2. La présence simultanée d'un nombre significatif de musiciens de grand talent 3. La disponibilité de drogues psychédéliques sur le territoire britannique. 4. Une série d'innovations technologiques qui ont modifié les perspectives de création sonore. Cette thèse analyse l'interaction entre ces quatre éléments et en détermine l'importance respective pour la genèse du style musical

The consumption of LSD and similar psychedelic drugs in New York City led to a great deal of cultural innovations that formed a unique psychedelic subculture from the early 1960s onwards. Historians and other commentators have offered conflicting views on this phenomenon by using either an epidemiological approach or by giving drug users more agency. The present study sides with the latter category to offer a new social history of LSD, but problematizes this topic in a sophisticated way by understanding psychedelic drug use as a social fact that in turn produces meaning for its consumers. It analyses the multiple cultural features of psychedelia through the lenses of politics, science, religion, and art, but also looks at the utopian and radical off-shoots of that subculture. To balance this thematic approach, it historicises the subculture by analysing its early days and discussing its origins, and then by pointing to the factors that led to its metamorphosis towards the end of the 1960s. In order to give LSD consumers a clearer voice, this dissertation is based on memoirs, correspondence and interviews that are used to balance press coverage gleaned from archival collections. With this wide array of primary sources supplemented by up-to-date secondary literature, it argues that the use of LSD and psychedelics led to a rich subculture that can be explained by the inherent complexity of the psychedelic experience. In turn, the plurality of opinions regarding the meaning and purposes of the experience led to tensions and polarisations within the large subculture, as well as with other drug subcultures and outsiders leery of illicit drug use. In doing so, this dissertation contributes to the social history of illicit substance consumption and adds to the fields of urban history and the history of subcultures, and makes a case for understanding LSD and psychedelics as a unique category of forbidden drugs that differ vastly in their cultural meaning from other drugs.

Background: Recently there has been a revitalization in research on classic psychedelic substances. This class of drugs has been found to produce intense and profoundly meaningful experiences, and offers a unique opportunity to study the neural correlates of the sense of self. The objective of this research was to systematically review the effects of classic psychedelics on spontaneous brain activity, as measured on three electrophysiological modalities: spectral analysis, signal diversity, and functional connectivity. Method: We searched Pubmed to identify papers in English, published between January 1990 to May 2021, where electrophysiological methods were used to evaluate the effects of classic psychedelics in healthy individuals during non-task resting states. Results: Sixteen papers were included. Classic psychedelic substances generally decrease spectral power in most frequency bands, mainly in the alpha range, increase signal diversity, and decrease the flow of information throughout the brain. Conclusion: Decreases in alpha power, increased signal diversity, and decreases in default mode network activity might be important neural correlates of the psychedelic state. However, inconsistencies in the results and heterogeneity in study design are some of the limitations that have to be considered when interpreting these results.

Psychedelics—also known as hallucinogens and entheogens—comprise a family of psychoactive molecules that are both found in nature and synthetically engineered in the lab. As a class, psychedelic compounds produce phenomenologically complex and novel experiences that have recently captured the attention of mental health clinicians and researchers. However, psychedelic clinical research and treatment remain limited, with most studies exploring the efficacy and safety of protocols for individuals with anxiety, depression, substance use, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while individuals with personal or familial histories of psychosis, psychotic disorders, and bipolar disorder are mostly excluded from treatment and research. The overarching objectives of this thesis included determining 1) whether excluding this group from psychedelic clinical research is justified, 2) when psychedelic drug administration and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) may be contraindicated for this group, 3) if people with a history of psychosis or a psychotic disorder may be able to treat their psychotic symptoms with PAP, 4) if people with a history of psychosis or psychotic disorder may be able to treat their co-morbid conditions like anxiety, depression, substance use, or PTSD with PAP, 5) what a PAP treatment protocol for this group could look like 6) how individuals with reported histories of psychosis and psychotic disorders describe their experiences of psychedelic drug use and 7) whether naturalistic psychedelic use has an overall positive or negative effect on emotional well-being and psychological functioning for this group. Results from the first study—a qualitative study with experts in medicine, mental health, and psychedelics—suggest that certain individuals with histories of psychosis and psychotic disorders may benefit from PAP under the right conditions, such as when psychosis is etiologically connected to traumatic events, when the protocol offers extensive support for the patient, and when psychosis is not the result of amphetamine use or medical conditions such as epilepsy. Moreover, results suggest that the effects of the specific psychedelic that is administered must be carefully considered and support outside of therapy must also be assessed. Other factors such as personality traits, ability to form rapport with a guide or sitter, symptom severity, specific symptom endorsement, symptom duration, age, the presence of physiopathology and more must also be taken into consideration. For the second study, a cross-sectional, retrospective, phenomenological survey report was administered to individuals who reported a history of one or more psychotic experiences and/or diagnosis of a psychotic condition who also had at least one psychedelic drug experience in their lifetime. The survey asked participants to describe one memorable instance of psychedelic drug use and found that in a sample of 100, most individuals (n=88) describe some degree of personal growth resulting from their experience. Many also describe mystical-type experiences, gaining insight or awareness during their experience, heightened appreciation for life, and improved mental health and emotional well-being. Descriptions of symptomatic relief included reduced paranoid thinking, changes in relationships with symptoms, and decreased suicidal ideation. Approximately 11% of the sample described negative experiences including perseverating psychological impairment, symptom exacerbation, and psychedelic-induced suicidality. A slightly larger portion of the sample described mixed-type experiences, i.e., experiencing positive and negative effects alongside each other. The findings of these studies fill a major gap in the literature by suggesting that individuals with histories of psychotic symptoms and disorders may be able to partake in psychedelic studies and treatment under certain circumstances. This is because experts have explicitly stated that psychedelic use is not necessarily contraindicated for everyone with psychotic conditions and symptoms, but rather that most PAP protocols for anxiety, depression and other conditions do not offer enough support. At the same time, exclusion criteria are required by the FDA. Additionally, survey reports from individuals with lived experiences of psychosis further back the position that PAP could be a viable treatment option for this group through their survey reports. Specifically, the high prevalence of positive and therapeutic experiences with psychedelics in naturalistic settings suggests that clinically supervised psychedelic drug use may generate similar or even better outcomes for this population. Although a minority had adverse experiences, it remains to be studied as to whether similar effects might be experienced at a similar rate or similar degree of frequency in clinical studies, which utilize harm reduction strategies, maximize safety, and implement preparatory and integration sessions, elements which were notably absent from reports of adverse experiences in the survey. Results also shed light on what a psychedelic treatment protocol could look like for this group, and how individuals with histories of psychotic experiences and diagnosed psychotic conditions describe their experiences of psychedelic use and the effects of psychedelic drugs on their emotional and psychological functioning.

Under de två senaste decennierna har forskningen och intresset för psykedelisk terapii västvärlden växt. Vid en snabb översikt av fältet och det narrativ som framträder så återkommer konceptet integration i litteraturen som en viktig beståndsdel i den psykedeliska terapin. Beskrivningar av vad integration som aktivitet är, kan eller bör vara skiljer sig åt i den vetenskapliga litteraturen. Till vår vetskap har dock ingen tidigare sammanställning gjorts för integrationens roll och betydelse inom modern klinisk forskning. Att en sådan sammanställning görs är av särskild vikt som grund för eventuell framtida behandling. Detta är därmed syftet för denna uppsats. Mer specifikt ämnades följande frågeställningar att besvaras: (I) Hur beskrivs interventioner som efterföljer den psykedeliska sessionen? (II) Vad syftar den efterföljande interventionen till? (III) Hur motiverar studierna sin metod? Frågeställningen besvarades via en kartläggande litteraturöversikt och tillhörande metodologi. Litteratursökningen genererade 228 resultat där totalt 17 studier inkluderades. Datan analyserades via en basal manifest innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att integration är minimalt beskriven i de inkluderade studierna samt att dessa har olika beskrivningar för integrationsprocessen. Vidare skiljde sig beskrivningarna av syftet med det integrativa samtalet åt i de olika studierna. Slutligen saknades en redogörelse för teoretisk grund och diskussion kring integrationen som del av behandlingen. Nyckelord: psykedelisk terapi, integration, kartläggande litteraturöversikt / In the last two decades, the research and interest in psychedelic therapy has grownin the western world. In a quick overview of the field and the narrative that emerges, the concept of integration is described in the literature as an important component of psychedelic therapy. Descriptions of what integration as an activity is, can or should be, differ in the scientific literature. However to our knowledge no previous compilation has been made of the role and importance of integration in modern clinical research. That such a compilation is made is of particular importance as a basis for possible future treatment. This is thus the purpose of this essay. More specifically, the following questions were intended to be answered: (I) How are interventions following the psychedelic session described? (II) What is the purpose of the subsequent intervention? (III) How do the studies justify their method? The questions were answered via a scoping review and associated methodology. The literature search generated 228 results in which a total of 17 studies were included. The data was analyzed via a basic manifest content analysis. The result showed that integration is minimally described in the included studies and that these have different descriptions of the integration process. Furthermore, the descriptions of the purpose of the integrative conversation differed in the various studies. Finally, an account of the theoretical basis and discussion of integration as part of the treatment was missing. Key words: psychedelic therapy, integration, scoping review

No description available.

This thesis is missing page 129, no other copy of the thesis has this page. Based on the figure list and last page, it is our belief that the thesis was incorrectly number and should end on Figure 17. -Digitization Centre / Many medical researchers in the post-WWII era explored LSD for its potential therapeutic value. Among these psychiatrists Humphry Osmond (in Weyburn) and Abram Hoffer (in Saskatoon) directed some of the most comprehensive trials in the Western world. These Saskatchewan-based medical researchers were first drawn to LSD because of its ability to produce a "model psychosis." Their experiments with the drug that Osmond was to famously describe as a "psychedelic"-led them to hypothesise, and promote, the biochemical constitution of Schizophrenia. Simulating psychotic symptoms through auto-experimentation, professionals also believed that the drug would help reform mental health accommodations by cultivating a sophisticated appreciation for the relationship between environment and health. This thesis examines the era of pre-criminal LSD experimentation. Drawing on hospital records, interviews with former research subjects, and the private papers of Hoffer and Osmond this dissertation will demonstrate that these LSD trials, far from fringe medical research, represented a fruitful and indeed encouraging branch of psychiatric research. Clinical LSD experiments in the 1950s played an influential role in defining theoretical and practical aims of the post-war psychiatric profession. Ultimately the experiments failed for two reasons, one scientific and the other cultural. The scientific parameters of clinical trials in medicine shifted in the 1950s and early 1960s so as to necessitate controlled trials (which the Saskatchewan researchers had failed to construct). Second, as LSD became increasingly associated with student riots, anti-war demonstrations and the counter culture, governments intervened to criminalise the drug, in effect terminating formal medical research with LSD. An historical examination of these LSD experiments provides insight into the changing complexion of psychiatry in the post-World War Two period, and the ways in which scientific medicine was shaped by social, cultural and political currents. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In this review I examine the clinical uses of psychedelics as an adjunct to psychotherapy to treat three major mental health disorders; Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Addiction (Substance Use Disorder). I assess the hallucinogen treatment model's efficacy in treating chronic mental health disorders that have been unresponsive to legal and traditional psychiatric treatment. I review the earlier studies conducted with psychedelics and discuss the more recent ones. This review may be helpful to therapists and clinicians who would like to further their understanding of psychedelic therapy.