Exploring the Intersection of Technology & Spirituality

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Why are perceptual contents of Psychedelic experiences important? - Celestina Aurora Madry

"Albert Hoffman’s discovery of LSD led to the discovery of the serotonergic system, after it was discovered that LSD binds to certain types of serotonin receptors because it contains an indole ring, the same molecular backbone that serotonin has. I think it’s no coincidence that out of all drugs to spur on such a discovery, that it was LSD- I doubt that such a discovery would have been made if Albert Hoffman would have ended up synthesizing an SSRI instead of LSD. It is the fact that LSD has such profound qualia associated with its ingestion, that shed light on the idea that tinkering with brain chemistry in a certain way, can make people feel different. Remember, before the 1950s, the idea that brain chemistry is in some way responsible for our feelings was still totally foreign to science, so Albert Hoffman’s discovery of LSD leading to the discovery of the serotonergic system’s role in our feelings was novel and quite revolutionary at the time." - Qualiology Audio Recording was taken from: VRTO2018 Empathic Understanding w Psychedelics & EVR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qEbN... Music Credit goes to: We Plants Are Happy Plants - Not Waiting For Anything (Variation On A Theme) Photo Credit goes to: leth@lickmylenscap.com