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The term “afterglow” originally described the heightened mood and relaxation following psychedelics and later extended to other altered states. Despite anecdotal reports, little research has explored this effect, especially in Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Technique). In this method, individuals float in thermoneutral, supersaturated salt water in a dark, quiet tank. Using a crossover design, 34 participants (17 females, 17 males; avg. age 32.2, SD = 8.8) were randomized to 60 min of Floatation-REST or Bed-REST (a control condition on a waterbed). Floatation-REST induced significantly weaker body boundaries, significantly stronger time distortion, and significantly greater relaxation. Post-exposure, participants reported a significantly stronger afterglow, significantly more state mindfulness, and significantly greater interoceptive awareness. Mediation analysis showed relaxation during floating fully explains the afterglow effect. These findings align with psychedelic research, suggesting Floatation-REST elicits similar effects and laying the groundwork for future studies on prolonged afterglow experiences.

The technological advances in recent years are influencing and redefining our daily lives, communications, and social relationships. While these advances bring us many benefits, their negative effects may also cause concern. Although often studied, the potential benefits of digital deprivation are still disputed. This laboratory study investigates the impact of short digital deprivation (7 min and 30 s) on the psychophysiological state and time perception of 90 participants. Three experimental conditions were created for the task performed during the waiting period (30 subjects per condition). Participants had to either freely use their smartphone, perform a non-digital task (sudoku), or wait (i.e. passive digital deprivation). Indicators of electrodermal activity and heart rate variability were calculated for the baseline and waiting periods, along with measures of subjective affective state. Four measures of time perception were also collected after the waiting period. Regardless of their experimental condition, the participants underestimated the duration of the waiting period on average (5 min 44 vs. 7 min 30). Passive digitally deprived participants felt that the time passed more slowly and were more bored than participants engaged in a task, regardless of whether the task was digital or not. Sudoku induced more positive affect and was more cognitively engaging than the free use of a smartphone regarding heart rate variability measures. The results suggest that performing a digital task (free smartphone use) is less cognitively demanding than a non-digital task (sudoku) and alters time perception in the same way. The digital nature of a task might also impact one’s affective reaction. A similar study in the field with longer or repetitive digital deprivation periods and a different non-digital task to perform (e.g., reading news) should be conducted to confirm the results obtained in this study.

Abstract In 1960, a year before Carl Jung’s death, the German parapsychologist Hans Bender met with him to ask his opinion regarding a sequence of strange events that transpired in the previous years. During this meeting, Bender would reveal to Jung the multiple synchronicities that surrounded his mother’s death. In turn, Jung offered his interpretation and elaborated on topics that he had rarely done in the previous years, touching on parapsychological matters, life after death, participation mystique between mother and son, and then nature of time. In this article we elaborate on this discussion by referring to recent conceptualizations and empirical findings regarding death awareness, altered states of consciousness, as well as empirical studies in anomalous cognition, such as precognition and presentiment.

In this proof-of-principle study, we intended to employ the ganzfeld psi method with two novel features. (1) We used a set of four different interactive video games randomly selected for each trial to be played in a virtual reality (VR) setting by the sender, while the receiver was wearing goggles producing either (2) a red or green ganzfeld, randomly selected. N = 48 young couples in a romantic relationship were recruited as sender-receiver pairs, resulting in 48 trials. Regarding the main confirmatory hypothesis, across all trials the experiment registered 15 hits out of 48 attempts, where the chance level lies at 12. According to a binominal test, the probability of having exactly, or more than, 15 hits (K) out of 48 trials (n) is p = .199. The receivers’ hit rates in the green as compared to the red ganzfeld were not significantly different (χ² = .814; p = .367). Assessed experiential state variables for the video game and the ganzfeld sessions as well as the measured trait variable absorption did not affect the hit rate. An analysis of participants’ responses revealed that independent of the hit rate the four games were identified as targets a strongly unequal number of times. The design of potential future studies is discussed.

Zusammenfassung Liebe Leserinnen und Leser, die Beiträge dieser Ausgabe befassen sich mit Problemen und Krisen, die im Kontext eines gezielt gewählten spirituellen Entwicklungsweges auftreten können, ebenso aber auch infolge der Ausübung von bewusstseinsverändernden und transformativen Praktiken unter rein säkularen Motiven. Derlei Krisen und Probleme wurden in der Vergangenheit unter verschiedenen Begrifflichkeiten diskutiert und beforscht. Die populärsten Begriffe dürften jedoch der Begriff der „spirituellen Krise“ und neuerdings der Begriff der „unerwünschten Nebenwirkungen der Meditation“ sein. Aus diesem Grund und weil diese beiden Begriffe auch den zeitlichen Verlauf der Entwicklung der Thematik in Wissenschaft und Anwendung recht gut widerspiegeln, haben wir diese Themenschwerpunktausgabe „Spirituelle und meditationsinduzierte Krisen“ benannt. Der Beitrag von Liane Hofmann führt in den Themenschwerpunkt dieser Ausgabe ein, indem sie die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Konzepts der spirituellen Krise und die damit verbundenen Sichtweisen und Anliegen erläutert. Hierfür werden zunächst die gesellschaftlichen Hintergründe und die Ausgangssituation innerhalb der akademischen Disziplinen der Psychologie und der Psychiatrie näher beleuchtet, die wesentliche Ausgangspunkte und Impulsgeber für die heute feststellbaren Weiterentwicklungen auf diesem Gebiet waren. Es werden zentrale historische Stationen, Autoren und deren Publikationen gewürdigt, die unser heutiges psychologisches Verständnis von Spirituelle-Krisen-Prozessen maßgeblich geprägt und zu dessen stetiger Vertiefung beigetragen haben. Darauffolgend wird auf einige praxisbezogene, klinisch-therapeutisch relevante Fragen eingegangen. Der Beitrag schließt mit der Benennung von Faktoren, die zur nach wie vor ungenügenden Versorgungslage bei Spirituelle-Krisen-Prozessen beitragen, sowie Überlegungen zu Desideraten bezüglich der weiteren wissenschaftlichen Erforschung und einer Verbesserung des Versorgungsangebotes für Betroffene. Ein wichtiger Grund für die starke Verbreitung von Meditation in der Gegenwart sind ihre positiven gesundheitlichen Wirkungen. Im Beitrag von Ulrich Ott, Michael Tremmel und Freya von Hohnhorst wird der Blick hingegen auf die vergleichsweise junge empirische Forschung gerichtet, die die Vielfalt und Häufigkeit unangenehmer „Nebenwirkungen“ von Meditation untersucht. Diese umfassen ein weites Spektrum von Phänomenen, die von ungewöhnlichen Körperempfindungen, erhöhter Empfindsamkeit, intensiven Emotionen (Angst, Trauer, Wut) bis hin zu drastischen Veränderungen der Selbst- und Weltwahrnehmung reichen und die gelegentlich sogar in eine stationäre psychiatrische Behandlung münden. Der Überblick über die neuesten empirischen Studien zeigt deutliche Unterschiede in der Auftretenshäufigkeit von Nebenwirkungen je nach Setting und der damit verbundenen „Dosis“ an Meditation. Die differenzierte Erfassung von Nebenwirkungen und Einflussfaktoren, wie psychische Erkrankungen in der Vorgeschichte oder die Qualifikation der Lehrenden, kann in der Zukunft dazu beitragen, präventive Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um potenzielle Risiken zu minimieren. Ein Hinweis auf das vorhandene Risiko ist der neue Beratungsschwerpunkt, den Liane Hofmann und Ulrich Ott am Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene (IGPP) in Freiburg im Breisgau etabliert haben. In ihrem Beitrag stellen sie die Klientel und die Konzepte dieses Beratungsangebotes detailliert vor: Wer richtet sich mit welchen Anliegen an die Beratung? Neben typischen Fallkonstellationen werden zwei exemplarische Fälle skizziert. Wie ist das Vorgehen bei der Beratung von Betroffenen, die in ihrem Umfeld häufig auf wenig Verständnis treffen für das, was sie erlebt haben? Welche Maßnahmen haben sich als hilfreich erwiesen? Flankiert wird die konkrete Beratungstätigkeit durch die Begleitforschung mit Fragebogen, die dabei helfen, einzelne Elemente bestimmter Erfahrungen (z. B. Kundalini-Erwachen) oder relevante Persönlichkeitsmerkmale (z. B. die Absorptionsfähigkeit) genauer zu erfassen. Damit soll langfristig ein Beitrag zum wissenschaftlichen Verständnis außergewöhnlicher spiritueller Erfahrungen geleistet werden, das wiederum in der Beratung genutzt werden kann, um Betroffenen nachvollziehbare Erklärungen für ihre Erfahrungen anzubieten, die deren Akzeptanz und Integration erleichtern. Zu den verschiedenen Settings, in denen die Meditationspraxis eingeübt und vertieft werden kann, gehört auch die Teilnahme an einem mehrtägigen Retreat, im Zazen „Sesshin“ genannt. Solche Retreats gelten als äußert anspruchsvoll und sie erfordern eine gute psychische Stabilität der Teilnehmenden. Der Benediktushof in Holzkirchen ist eines der größten spirituellen Zentren in Europa und es werden dort regelmäßig mehrtägige Sesshins angeboten. Alexander Poraj und Michaela Nüssel beschreiben in ihrem Beitrag das Spektrum der Maßnahmen, das am Benediktushof etabliert wurde, um einen sicheren Verlauf der Praxis zu gewährleisten und möglichen krisenhaften Verläufen vorzubeugen. Auch für die psychologische Begleitung seltener, dennoch auftretender Krisen sowie für die Unterstützung bei der Integration neuartiger und tiefgreifender psychospiritueller Erfahrungen ist im Rahmen eines neu eingerichteten Angebots der „Psychologischen Begleitung auf dem Weg“ während oder im Anschluss an das Retreat gesorgt. Darüber hinaus kann dieses Begleitungsangebot auch dazu dienen, den Übergang von einer Zeit der intensiven Praxis in den Alltag zu unterstützen. Die präventiven und begleitenden Maßnahmen des Benediktushofs können somit als ein Best-Practice-Beispiel der Vorbeugung von krisenhaften Prozessen im Retreatkontext erachtet werden. Die Einnahme von psychedelischen Substanzen ist neben Meditation eine verbreitete Methode zur Induktion spiritueller Erfahrungen, die sowohl positive als auch negative Auswirkungen haben können. Maximilian Heck stellt in seinem Beitrag die Ergebnisse seiner Masterarbeit an der Universität Münster vor, in der er untersucht hat, welchen Einfluss Vorerfahrungen mit Meditation und die Ausprägung von Achtsamkeit und Absorptionsfähigkeit auf psychedelische Erfahrungen und ihre Nachwirkungen haben. Tatsächlich schließen sich Meditationspraxis und die Einnahme von Psychedelika ja keineswegs aus. In einer bahnbrechenden Studie in der Schweiz wurde gezeigt, wie die Einnahme von Psilocybin während eines fünftägigen Zen-Retreats zu einer Vertiefung von Meditationszuständen und zur Verstärkung positiver Nachwirkungen führte (Smigielski, Kometer et al., 2019). Umgekehrt beleuchtet Maximilian Heck in seinem Beitrag, welchen Einfluss Vorerfahrungen mit Meditation auf psychedelische Trips und deren Nachwirkungen haben können. Anhand eines Strukturgleichungsmodells veranschaulicht er grafisch, welchen hemmenden oder fördernden Einfluss Meditationspraxis, Achtsamkeit und Absorptionsfähigkeit auf positive oder negative psychedelische Erfahrungen sowie ihre Nachwirkungen haben. Den Abschluss der vorliegenden Themenschwerpunktausgabe bilden zwei überaus spannende und erkenntnisreiche Interviews mit zwei prominenten Vertretern der Spirituelle-Krisen-Thematik: Joachim Galuska und David Lukoff. Dabei sahen wir uns aus Platzgründen leider veranlasst, das Interview mit David Lukoff erst in der kommenden Ausgabe 1/2025 abzudrucken. Aufgrund ihrer beider Zugehörigkeit zum Themenschwerpunkt „Spirituelle und meditationsinduzierte Krisen“ möchten wir an dieser Stelle jedoch die beiden Interviews gemeinsam ankündigen. Joachim Galuska, Mitbegründer der Heiligenfeld Kliniken, hat sich über seine ganze berufliche Laufbahn hinweg um die Integration von Spiritualität in die Gesundheitsversorgung bemüht und darüber hinaus immer neue, inspirierende und vielfältige Projekte für eine bessere Versorgung von Menschen, die von spirituellen und religiösen Problemen betroffen sind, sowie für die Etablierung einer Kultur des Bewusstseins angestoßen. David Lukoff gilt als einer der renommiertesten Vertreter aus dem US-amerikanischen Raum. Er hat die Themenfelder spirituelle Krisen, spirituelle und religiöse Probleme sowie die Entwicklung von spirituellen Kompetenzen unter klinischen Praktikerinnen und Praktikern im psychologischen Mainstream vorangetrieben und salonfähig gemacht. Es war mir, Liane Hofmann, eine große Freude, diese beiden Interviews zu führen, und wir sind sehr dankbar, dass die beiden Autoren sie zugesagt haben. Die beiden Gespräche künden von einem großen persönlichen und beruflichen Erfahrungsschatz hinsichtlich des spirituellen Entwicklungsgangs, einschließlich der möglichen Krisen, die auf einem solchen Weg auftreten können. Allein diese Interviews zu führen, fühlte sich wie eine sehr inspirierende Weiterbildung zum Thema an. Und nun noch etwas in eigener Sache: Heinrich Dauber und Dorothee Wienand-Kranz haben sich nach vielen Jahren, in denen sie im Redaktionsteam dieser Zeitschrift tätig waren, entschieden, diese Tätigkeit nun zu beenden und in den redaktionellen Ruhestand einzutreten. Wir möchten uns im Namen des gesamten Redaktionsteams an dieser Stelle ganz herzlich für ihre langjährige Unterstützung und ihr Engagement für das gemeinsame Anliegen der Förderung einer Kultur des Bewusstseins bedanken! Last but not least werden wir den stets sehr herzlichen und inspirierenden Austausch mit ihnen sehr vermissen. Wir wünschen Ihnen viel Freude beim Lesen der Beiträge und neue Einsichten, die Sie in Ihrem privaten und/oder auch beruflichen Leben fruchtbar umsetzen können. Liane Hofmann & Ulrich Ott

Zusammenfassung Nachdem positive Wirkungen von Meditation auf die Gesundheit lange Zeit im Fokus der Forschung standen, liegen inzwischen auch Studien vor, die unangenehme Nebenwirkungen (adverse effects) von Meditation untersucht und dokumentiert haben. Dieser Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht über (1) das Spektrum solcher Nebenwirkungen, die von Schlafstörungen über Ängste und Depressionen bis hin zu Psychosen reichen können, (2) ihre Häufigkeit in klinischen und traditionellen Praxiskontexten und (3) Risikofaktoren, die ihr Auftreten begünstigen können, wie etwa psychische Erkrankungen in der Vorgeschichte, fehlende Begleitung oder eine intensive Praxis im Rahmen von Retreats. Die vorgestellten Forschungsergebnisse unterstreichen die Wichtigkeit, potenzielle Nebenwirkungen von Meditation eingehend zu erforschen, um an Meditation interessierte Menschen über die Risiken aufzuklären und darüber zu informieren, was beachtet werden sollte, um die Meditationspraxis so sicher wie möglich zu gestalten.

Meaning in life and nature connectedness are indicators of a healthy life and correlate with health and well-being. We conducted a validation study of German versions of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (Steger et al. 2006) and Nature Connection Index (Richardson et al. 2019) and assessed mindfulness as a trait and personality (big five personality traits) among participating students (n = 353). Results indicated a significant positive correlation between nature connectedness and presence of meaning in life. Presence of meaning correlated significantly with less neuroticism, more openness to new experiences, greater conscientiousness, and moderately with the two mindfulness subscales, ‘acceptance’ and ‘presence’. Search for meaning was associated with more neuroticism and less acceptance. A higher nature-connectedness score correlated with more presence and acceptance (mindfulness), greater openness, and less neuroticism (personality traits). Furthermore, we introduce a nature-assisted model of meaning fulfilment that can be applied in healthcare practices, counselling, and (psycho-) therapeutic treatment. Our results contribute to growing evidence on the preventive and curative effects of nature connectedness and meaning in life and their role as health-related resources. Nature connectedness and meaning in life are effective resources considering various aspects related to (global) crises such as climate change and the corona pandemic.

The P3b is a prominent event-related potential (ERP) with maximal amplitude between 250 ms and 500 ms after the onset of a rare target stimulus within a sequence of standard non-target stimuli (oddball paradigm). Several studies found reduced P3b amplitudes in patients with schizophrenia compared to neurotypicals. Our work and the literature suggest that temporal imprecision may play a large pathophysiological role in schizophrenia. Here, we investigated whether reduced P3b amplitudes result from reduced neural activity (power) or temporal imprecision (inter-trial phase coherence; ITC) in delta and theta bands, using two EEG datasets from different studies with different oddball paradigms (Study 1: 19 patients with schizophrenia and 17 matched controls, Study 2: 26 patients and 26 controls). Both studies revealed typical P3b ERP components with smaller amplitudes in patients. Reduced ITC in patients was found in the delta band, which correlated with P3b peak amplitudes for all participant groups (ρ = 0.58-0.89). In Study 1, we also found significant differences between patients and controls in ITC in the theta band, which also correlated with P3b peak amplitudes (patients' ρ = 0.64, controls' ρ = 0.54). This was not found in Study 2. The results indicate that P3b amplitude reduction in patients with schizophrenia is linked to a reduction in temporal precision of neural activity. These results expand the notion of imprecision in temporal processing at phenomenological, psychological, and neurological levels that have been related to disturbances of the sense of self. They confirm that temporal imprecision may be more important than the reduction of neural activity itself.

In accordance with Bud (A.D.) Craig's theories, we maintain that ascending physiological signals in their temporal dynamics are a necessary prerequisite for human time judgments. Functional neuroimaging and psychophysiological evidence have increasingly demonstrated that the subjective judgment of time is based on the physical and emotional self. The psychological literature reveals how emotions and related body feelings shape subjective time. Empirical studies of altered states of consciousness, namely meditative states, are also of prime interest as the perception of the physical state is strongly modulated and thereby affects the subjective experience of time. Our conclusion is that the sense of time is strongly embodied.

During visual imagination, a perceptual representation is activated in the absence of sensory input. This is sometimes described as seeing with the mind's eye. A number of physiological studies indicate that the brain uses more or less the same neural resources for visual perception of sensory information and visual imagination. The intensity of visual imagination is typically assessed with questionnaires, while more objective measures are missing. Aim of the present study was, to test a new experimental paradigm that may allow to objectively quantify imagination. For this, we used priming and adaptation effects during observation of ambiguous figures. Our perception of an ambiguous stimulus is unstable and alternates spontaneously between two possible interpretations. If we first observe an unambiguous stimulus variant (the conditioning stimulus), the subsequently presented ambiguous stimulus can either be perceived in the same way as the test stimulus (priming effect) or in the opposite way (adaptation effect) as a function of the conditioning time. We tested for these conditioning effects (priming and adaptation) using an ambiguous Necker Cube and an ambiguous Letter /Number stimulus as test stimuli and unambiguous variants thereof as conditioning stimuli. In a second experimental condition, we tested whether the previous imagination of an unambiguous conditioning stimulus variant - instead of its observation - can have similar conditioning effects on the subsequent test stimulus. We found no systematic conditioning effect on the group level, neither for the two stimulus types (Necker Cube stimuli and Letter /Number stimuli) nor for the two conditions (Real and Imaginary). However, significant correlations between effects of Real and Imaginary Condition were observed for both stimulus types. The absence of conditioning effects at the group level may be explained by using only one conditioning time, which may fit with individual priming and adaptation constants of some of our participants but not of others. Our strong correlation results indicate that observers with clear conditioning effects have about the same type (priming or adaptation) and intensity of imaginary conditioning effects. As a consequence, not only past perceptual experiences but also past imaginations can influence our current percepts. This is further confirmation that the mechanisms underlying perception and imagination are similar. Our post-hoc qualitative observations from three self-defined aphantasic observers indicate that our paradigm may be a promising objective measure to identify aphantasia.

Recent studies suggest that time estimation relies on bodily rhythms and interoceptive signals. We provide the first direct electrophysiological evidence suggesting an association between the brain's processing of heartbeat and duration judgment. We examined heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) and contingent negative variation (CNV) during an auditory duration-reproduction task and a control reaction-time task spanning 4, 8, and 12 s intervals, in both male and female participants. Interoceptive awareness was assessed with the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) and interoceptive accuracy through the heartbeat-counting task (HCT). Results revealed that SAQ scores, but not the HCT, correlated with mean reproduced durations with higher SAQ scores associating with longer and more accurate duration reproductions. Notably, the HEP amplitude changes during the encoding phase of the timing task, particularly within 130-270 ms (HEP1) and 470-520 ms (HEP2) after the R-peak, demonstrated interval-specific modulations that did not emerge in the control task. A significant ramp-like increase in HEP2 amplitudes occurred during the duration-encoding phase of the timing but not during the control task. This increase within the reproduction phase of the timing task correlated significantly with the reproduced durations for the 8 s and the 4 s intervals. The larger the increase in HEP2, the greater the under-reproduction of the estimated duration. CNV components during the encoding phase of the timing task were more negative than those in the reaction-time task, suggesting greater executive resources orientation toward time. We conclude that interoceptive awareness (SAQ) and cortical responses to heartbeats (HEP) predict duration reproductions, emphasizing the embodied nature of time.

Ghost hunting is a leisure activity for amateur researchers. The fascination with the supernatural is a driving force behind them using technical equipment to visit allegedly haunted buildings or ruins at weekends and carry out so-called “paranormal investigations.” The data collected with various measuring devices is examined for anomalies that are not compatible with conventional explanations and compared with subjective perceptions. This article consists of two parts. The first part provides a brief overview of the history of haunting investigations. Furthermore, some social and cultural studies on the current form of ghost hunting as it appears in the 21st century in the USA, Great Britain and Germany are presented. In the second part, co-author Sonja Nowara, an active ghosthunter, offers an insight into the activities of ghosthunters as well as observations of the scene from the perspective of a well-informed insider, taking into account more recent developments such as the increasing commercialization of some parts of the scene.

The electroretinogram (ERG), a non-invasive electrophysiological tool used in ophthalmology, is increasingly applied to investigate neural correlates of depression. The present study aimed to reconsider previous findings in major depressive disorder (MDD) reporting (1) a diminished contrast sensitivity and (2) a reduced patten ERG (PERG) amplitude ratio, and additionally, to assess (3) the photopic negative response (PhNR) from the flash ERG (fERG), with the RETeval® device, a more practical option for clinical routine use. We examined 30 patients with a MDD and 42 healthy controls (HC), assessing individual contrast sensitivity thresholds with an optotype-based contrast test. Moreover, we compared the PERG ratio, an established method for early glaucoma detection, between both groups. The handheld ERG device was used to measure amplitudes and peak times of the fERG components including a-wave, b-wave and PhNR in both MDD patients and HCs. MDD patients exhibited diminished contrast sensitivity together with a reduced PERG ratio, compared to HC. With the handheld ERG device, we found reduced a-wave amplitudes in MDD, whereas no significant differences were observed in the fERG b-wave or PhNR between patients and controls. The reduced contrast sensitivity and PERG ratio in MDD patients supports the hypothesis that depression is associated with altered visual processing. The findings underscore the PERG's potential as a possible objective marker for depression. The reduced a-wave amplitude recorded with the RETeval® system in MDD patients might open new avenues for using handheld ERG devices as simplified approaches for advancing depression research compared to the PERG.

With neutron diffraction, the local stress and texture of metallic components can be analyzed non-destructively. For both, highly accurate positioning of the sample is essential, requiring the measurement at the same sample location from different directions. Current sample-positioning systems in neutron diffraction instruments combine XYZ tables and Eulerian cradles to enable the accurate six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) handling of samples. However, these systems are not flexible enough. The choice of the rotation center and their range of motion are limited. Industrial six-axis robots have the necessary flexibility, but they lack the required absolute accuracy. This paper proposes a visual servoing system consisting of an industrial six-axis robot enhanced with a high-precision multi-camera tracking system. Its goal is to achieve an absolute positioning accuracy of better than 50μm. A digital twin integrates various data sources from the instrument and the sample in order to enable a fully automatic measurement procedure. This system is also highly relevant for other kinds of processes that require the accurate and flexible handling of objects and tools, e.g., robotic surgery or industrial printing on 3D surfaces.

Floatation-REST (Reduced Environmental Stimulation Therapy) minimizes stimulation of the nervous system by immersing subjects in an environment without sound or light while they effortlessly float in thermoneutral water supersaturated with Epsom salt. Here we investigated the relationship between altered states of consciousness (ASC) and its association with the affective changes induced by Floatation-REST. Using a within-subject crossover design, 50 healthy subjects were randomized to 60 min of Floatation-REST or 60 min of Bed-REST (an active control condition that entailed lying supine on a warm waterbed in a dark and quiet room). Following Floatation-REST, subjects felt significantly more relaxed, less anxious, and less tired than after Bed-REST. Floatation-REST also induced significantly more pronounced ASC characterized by the dissolution of body boundaries and the distortion of subjective time. The loss of body boundaries mediated the loss of anxiety, revealing a novel mechanism by which Floatation-REST exerts its anxiolytic effect.

It is increasingly recognized that cognitive control requires integration across large-scale brain networks anchored in frontal and parietal cortices. While the functional role of individual networks has been studied extensively, their cross-network interactions in the service of cognitive control are poorly understood. Beyond in-the-moment regulation of goal-relevant information processing (e.g., of sensory information), cognitive control encompasses preparatory processes in anticipation of upcoming stimuli and actions. Such preparatory control is often endogenous, that is, it is based on internal representations without relying on external cues or events. Here, we assessed network interactions that support such endogenously driven preparatory control. We recorded fMRI (N = 25) during a perceptual decision task with highly variable intertrial intervals. In half of the blocks, trial onset was cued, while in the remaining blocks, participants maintained readiness without relying on cues. We studied endogenous preparatory control in the intertrial period preceding uncued (vs. cued) trials. Behavioral outcomes confirmed heavier cognitive control demands in the uncued condition. Endogenous preparatory control was associated with increased activity of the dorsal attention network (DAN). This contrasted with in-the-moment control over stimulus-response processing during the trial itself, which was supported foremost by the right-hemispheric fronto-parietal network (FPN). Cross-network interactions were strengthened exclusively during endogenous preparatory control; the default mode network (DMN) showed more positive connectivity with the DAN and to a lesser degree the cingulo-opercular network (CON). Our results demonstrate that cross-networks interactions are particularly important for endogenously driven preparatory control. They further suggest that the DMN may be implicated in internally harnessing resources for cognitive control. This notion extends the DMN’s known role in internally-oriented processing to the domain of cognitive control when preparation cannot be aided by external events.

Since the retina shares its embryological origin with the central nervous system, optical coherence tomography (OCT), an imaging technique frequently employed in ophthalmology to analyze the macula and intraretinal layer thicknesses and volumes, has recently become increasingly important in psychiatric research. We examined 34 autistic and 31 neurotypical adults (NT) using OCT. Autistic adults had reduced overall macular and outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness and volume compared to NT. Both macular and ONL thickness showed significant inverse associations with the severity of autistic symptoms measured with the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2). Longitudinal studies across different age groups are required to clarify whether retinal changes may represent a possible trait marker.

INTRODUCTION: We tested and validated the German version of a new instrument for measuring "wakefulness," defined as "an expansive, higher-functioning, and stable state of being in which a person's vision of and relationship to the world are transformed, along with their subjective experience, their sense of identity and their conceptual outlook" (Taylor, 2017, p. 22). METHODS: In order to test the construct validity of the new instrument (Inventory of Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness; WAKE-16), we performed a parametric comparison between a group of expert meditators (n=36) with a history of predominantly meditating in silence and demographically matched non-meditators (n=36) for the WAKE-16 and two conceptually related questionnaires of mindfulness and emotion regulation. RESULTS: Significantly higher scores for the meditators on the WAKE-16 indicate construct validity of the new instrument. Meditators scored higher on the two mindfulness subscales "presence" and "acceptance," as well as on the SEE subscales of emotion regulation and body-related symbolization of emotions. Within the group of meditators, there were significant correlations between wakefulness and mindfulness, accepting one's own emotions, and experiencing overwhelming emotions. The only significant correlation in non-meditators was found between wakefulness and accepting one's own emotions. DISCUSSION: The new instrument shows construct validity by discriminating between the two groups. Correlations between wakefulness and related psychological constructs indicate convergent validity. Future studies could attempt to increase discriminatory accuracy of the definition of wakefulness, as well as finding objective methods of measuring.