Speculative accounts of psychedelic phenomena under different mechanistic models.
| . | SEBUS . | REBUS . | ALBUS . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallucinations | Anomalous perceptual inference from overly strong priors | Anomalous perceptual inference from breakdown of integration by deep beliefs, possibly involving indirect strengthening of lower hierarchical levels | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects would be more-or-less explanatory based on the specific type of hallucinations being considered |
| Fractal imagery | Revealing useful priors derived from experience, and possibly evolution | Driving of perception by bottom-up prediction errors reflecting the fractal structure of the world | Increased shaping of perception by low-level priors (SEBUS), potentially with less competition from high-level expectations (REBUS) |
| Synesthesia | Increased cross-modal priors | Anarchic cross-modal signaling due to disorganized integrative processing | Possibly clearest account of synesthetic phenomenology, since cross-modal priors would not necessarily be synesthetic with only strengthened beliefs (SEBUS), and novel modes of perceptual synthesis could be obstructed with only relaxed beliefs (REBUS) |
| Entity encounters | Strengthened evolutionary and developmental agency priors | Anomalous agency attributions due to breakdown of self-processes | Combination of relaxed self-models (REBUS) and strengthened agent-perception priors (SEBUS), potentially also involving anomalous inference from incoherently integrated efference copies |
| Feelings of timelessness | Crowding out of temporally extended self-processes by experiential absorption | Relaxing of beliefs related to internal working models of self and world resulting in less engagement with temporally deep and counterfactually rich processing | Conjunction of less elaborative self-modeling (REBUS) and enhanced capacities for absorption (SEBUS and REBUS) |
| Feelings of unity and deep order | Strengthening of core socioemotional priors from early developmental stages | Reduced modeling of self as separate from world | Conjunction of reduced objectified selfhood (REBUS and SEBUS-via-absorption) and enhanced core priors for connection (SEBUS) |
| Recovered memories | Increased conscious access | Reduced suppression from defense mechanisms (e.g. experiential avoidance patterns) | Potential for recovering memories that are either weak (SEBUS) or blocked by defense mechanisms (REBUS) |
| False memories | Misleading vividness | Reduced reality monitoring | High probability of false memories through combination of reduced meta-cognition (REBUS) and enhanced perception (SEBUS) |
| Personal transformation | Increased perceptual and imaginative abilities enhancing capacity for visualizing desired goals and undesired consequences of behavior patterns | Letting go of rigid beliefs via relaxation of internal working models | Greatest opportunities for change by allowing new patterns (REBUS) to be explored with high experiential intensity (SEBUS) |
| Dissociation | Indirect consequence of fusion with experience | Relaxation of core beliefs related to selfhood | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects could contribute to different kinds of dissociative experiences in highly variable ways |
| Ego death | Potential consequence of extreme absorption causing a collapse of temporally deep and counterfactually rich modeling by which extended selfhood is actively inferred/constructed | Extreme relaxation of core beliefs related to both extended and embodied selfhood | Ego-death-related self-restructuring from intensely experienced (SEBUS) selfless/nondual experiences (REBUS and possibly SEBUS via extreme absorption) |
| Ontological shock | Strong experiences causing extreme updating of core (and potentially stabilizing) beliefs (REBUS effects via SEBUS effects) | Difficulty integrating experiences not structured according to internal working models of self and world | Similar explanation as for ego death in terms of combining intense experiences (SEBUS) outside of normal modes of sense-making (REBUS) |
| Delusional (but potentially generative with respect to creativity) cognition | Misleading vividness resulting in poorly evidenced models becoming resistant to updating/falsification | Relaxation of beliefs relating to active reality monitoring and epistemic hygiene | Kindling delusions (and some forms of creativity) by combining relaxed prior models (REBUS) with strengthened novel information (SEBUS) |
| Conversion experiences (e.g. adopting new religions, altered political affiliations) | Intense experience of an alternative reality provided by set/setting | Making core beliefs subject to updating/falsification via relaxation | Radical transformation of overarching narratives with respect to self/world by combining relaxed core beliefs (REBUS) with strengthened suggested beliefs (SEBUS) |
| Personality change | Increased ability to perceive and pursue new goals | Relaxation of internal working models creating a space within which new characteristic adaptations may form | Exploring and being updated by intensely experienced (SEBUS) alternative ways of being (REBUS) |
| . | SEBUS . | REBUS . | ALBUS . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallucinations | Anomalous perceptual inference from overly strong priors | Anomalous perceptual inference from breakdown of integration by deep beliefs, possibly involving indirect strengthening of lower hierarchical levels | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects would be more-or-less explanatory based on the specific type of hallucinations being considered |
| Fractal imagery | Revealing useful priors derived from experience, and possibly evolution | Driving of perception by bottom-up prediction errors reflecting the fractal structure of the world | Increased shaping of perception by low-level priors (SEBUS), potentially with less competition from high-level expectations (REBUS) |
| Synesthesia | Increased cross-modal priors | Anarchic cross-modal signaling due to disorganized integrative processing | Possibly clearest account of synesthetic phenomenology, since cross-modal priors would not necessarily be synesthetic with only strengthened beliefs (SEBUS), and novel modes of perceptual synthesis could be obstructed with only relaxed beliefs (REBUS) |
| Entity encounters | Strengthened evolutionary and developmental agency priors | Anomalous agency attributions due to breakdown of self-processes | Combination of relaxed self-models (REBUS) and strengthened agent-perception priors (SEBUS), potentially also involving anomalous inference from incoherently integrated efference copies |
| Feelings of timelessness | Crowding out of temporally extended self-processes by experiential absorption | Relaxing of beliefs related to internal working models of self and world resulting in less engagement with temporally deep and counterfactually rich processing | Conjunction of less elaborative self-modeling (REBUS) and enhanced capacities for absorption (SEBUS and REBUS) |
| Feelings of unity and deep order | Strengthening of core socioemotional priors from early developmental stages | Reduced modeling of self as separate from world | Conjunction of reduced objectified selfhood (REBUS and SEBUS-via-absorption) and enhanced core priors for connection (SEBUS) |
| Recovered memories | Increased conscious access | Reduced suppression from defense mechanisms (e.g. experiential avoidance patterns) | Potential for recovering memories that are either weak (SEBUS) or blocked by defense mechanisms (REBUS) |
| False memories | Misleading vividness | Reduced reality monitoring | High probability of false memories through combination of reduced meta-cognition (REBUS) and enhanced perception (SEBUS) |
| Personal transformation | Increased perceptual and imaginative abilities enhancing capacity for visualizing desired goals and undesired consequences of behavior patterns | Letting go of rigid beliefs via relaxation of internal working models | Greatest opportunities for change by allowing new patterns (REBUS) to be explored with high experiential intensity (SEBUS) |
| Dissociation | Indirect consequence of fusion with experience | Relaxation of core beliefs related to selfhood | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects could contribute to different kinds of dissociative experiences in highly variable ways |
| Ego death | Potential consequence of extreme absorption causing a collapse of temporally deep and counterfactually rich modeling by which extended selfhood is actively inferred/constructed | Extreme relaxation of core beliefs related to both extended and embodied selfhood | Ego-death-related self-restructuring from intensely experienced (SEBUS) selfless/nondual experiences (REBUS and possibly SEBUS via extreme absorption) |
| Ontological shock | Strong experiences causing extreme updating of core (and potentially stabilizing) beliefs (REBUS effects via SEBUS effects) | Difficulty integrating experiences not structured according to internal working models of self and world | Similar explanation as for ego death in terms of combining intense experiences (SEBUS) outside of normal modes of sense-making (REBUS) |
| Delusional (but potentially generative with respect to creativity) cognition | Misleading vividness resulting in poorly evidenced models becoming resistant to updating/falsification | Relaxation of beliefs relating to active reality monitoring and epistemic hygiene | Kindling delusions (and some forms of creativity) by combining relaxed prior models (REBUS) with strengthened novel information (SEBUS) |
| Conversion experiences (e.g. adopting new religions, altered political affiliations) | Intense experience of an alternative reality provided by set/setting | Making core beliefs subject to updating/falsification via relaxation | Radical transformation of overarching narratives with respect to self/world by combining relaxed core beliefs (REBUS) with strengthened suggested beliefs (SEBUS) |
| Personality change | Increased ability to perceive and pursue new goals | Relaxation of internal working models creating a space within which new characteristic adaptations may form | Exploring and being updated by intensely experienced (SEBUS) alternative ways of being (REBUS) |
SEBUS and REBUS columns indicate, respectively, strengthened and relaxed beliefs, potentially primarily observed with, respectively, low-to-moderate and moderate-to-high levels of 5-HT2a agonism. ALBUS indicates a mixture of both SEBUS and REBUS effects, with potentially highly variable combinations as a function of set, setting, and substance/dosing. This table is neither meant to be exhaustive nor definitive.
Speculative accounts of psychedelic phenomena under different mechanistic models.
| . | SEBUS . | REBUS . | ALBUS . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallucinations | Anomalous perceptual inference from overly strong priors | Anomalous perceptual inference from breakdown of integration by deep beliefs, possibly involving indirect strengthening of lower hierarchical levels | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects would be more-or-less explanatory based on the specific type of hallucinations being considered |
| Fractal imagery | Revealing useful priors derived from experience, and possibly evolution | Driving of perception by bottom-up prediction errors reflecting the fractal structure of the world | Increased shaping of perception by low-level priors (SEBUS), potentially with less competition from high-level expectations (REBUS) |
| Synesthesia | Increased cross-modal priors | Anarchic cross-modal signaling due to disorganized integrative processing | Possibly clearest account of synesthetic phenomenology, since cross-modal priors would not necessarily be synesthetic with only strengthened beliefs (SEBUS), and novel modes of perceptual synthesis could be obstructed with only relaxed beliefs (REBUS) |
| Entity encounters | Strengthened evolutionary and developmental agency priors | Anomalous agency attributions due to breakdown of self-processes | Combination of relaxed self-models (REBUS) and strengthened agent-perception priors (SEBUS), potentially also involving anomalous inference from incoherently integrated efference copies |
| Feelings of timelessness | Crowding out of temporally extended self-processes by experiential absorption | Relaxing of beliefs related to internal working models of self and world resulting in less engagement with temporally deep and counterfactually rich processing | Conjunction of less elaborative self-modeling (REBUS) and enhanced capacities for absorption (SEBUS and REBUS) |
| Feelings of unity and deep order | Strengthening of core socioemotional priors from early developmental stages | Reduced modeling of self as separate from world | Conjunction of reduced objectified selfhood (REBUS and SEBUS-via-absorption) and enhanced core priors for connection (SEBUS) |
| Recovered memories | Increased conscious access | Reduced suppression from defense mechanisms (e.g. experiential avoidance patterns) | Potential for recovering memories that are either weak (SEBUS) or blocked by defense mechanisms (REBUS) |
| False memories | Misleading vividness | Reduced reality monitoring | High probability of false memories through combination of reduced meta-cognition (REBUS) and enhanced perception (SEBUS) |
| Personal transformation | Increased perceptual and imaginative abilities enhancing capacity for visualizing desired goals and undesired consequences of behavior patterns | Letting go of rigid beliefs via relaxation of internal working models | Greatest opportunities for change by allowing new patterns (REBUS) to be explored with high experiential intensity (SEBUS) |
| Dissociation | Indirect consequence of fusion with experience | Relaxation of core beliefs related to selfhood | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects could contribute to different kinds of dissociative experiences in highly variable ways |
| Ego death | Potential consequence of extreme absorption causing a collapse of temporally deep and counterfactually rich modeling by which extended selfhood is actively inferred/constructed | Extreme relaxation of core beliefs related to both extended and embodied selfhood | Ego-death-related self-restructuring from intensely experienced (SEBUS) selfless/nondual experiences (REBUS and possibly SEBUS via extreme absorption) |
| Ontological shock | Strong experiences causing extreme updating of core (and potentially stabilizing) beliefs (REBUS effects via SEBUS effects) | Difficulty integrating experiences not structured according to internal working models of self and world | Similar explanation as for ego death in terms of combining intense experiences (SEBUS) outside of normal modes of sense-making (REBUS) |
| Delusional (but potentially generative with respect to creativity) cognition | Misleading vividness resulting in poorly evidenced models becoming resistant to updating/falsification | Relaxation of beliefs relating to active reality monitoring and epistemic hygiene | Kindling delusions (and some forms of creativity) by combining relaxed prior models (REBUS) with strengthened novel information (SEBUS) |
| Conversion experiences (e.g. adopting new religions, altered political affiliations) | Intense experience of an alternative reality provided by set/setting | Making core beliefs subject to updating/falsification via relaxation | Radical transformation of overarching narratives with respect to self/world by combining relaxed core beliefs (REBUS) with strengthened suggested beliefs (SEBUS) |
| Personality change | Increased ability to perceive and pursue new goals | Relaxation of internal working models creating a space within which new characteristic adaptations may form | Exploring and being updated by intensely experienced (SEBUS) alternative ways of being (REBUS) |
| . | SEBUS . | REBUS . | ALBUS . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallucinations | Anomalous perceptual inference from overly strong priors | Anomalous perceptual inference from breakdown of integration by deep beliefs, possibly involving indirect strengthening of lower hierarchical levels | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects would be more-or-less explanatory based on the specific type of hallucinations being considered |
| Fractal imagery | Revealing useful priors derived from experience, and possibly evolution | Driving of perception by bottom-up prediction errors reflecting the fractal structure of the world | Increased shaping of perception by low-level priors (SEBUS), potentially with less competition from high-level expectations (REBUS) |
| Synesthesia | Increased cross-modal priors | Anarchic cross-modal signaling due to disorganized integrative processing | Possibly clearest account of synesthetic phenomenology, since cross-modal priors would not necessarily be synesthetic with only strengthened beliefs (SEBUS), and novel modes of perceptual synthesis could be obstructed with only relaxed beliefs (REBUS) |
| Entity encounters | Strengthened evolutionary and developmental agency priors | Anomalous agency attributions due to breakdown of self-processes | Combination of relaxed self-models (REBUS) and strengthened agent-perception priors (SEBUS), potentially also involving anomalous inference from incoherently integrated efference copies |
| Feelings of timelessness | Crowding out of temporally extended self-processes by experiential absorption | Relaxing of beliefs related to internal working models of self and world resulting in less engagement with temporally deep and counterfactually rich processing | Conjunction of less elaborative self-modeling (REBUS) and enhanced capacities for absorption (SEBUS and REBUS) |
| Feelings of unity and deep order | Strengthening of core socioemotional priors from early developmental stages | Reduced modeling of self as separate from world | Conjunction of reduced objectified selfhood (REBUS and SEBUS-via-absorption) and enhanced core priors for connection (SEBUS) |
| Recovered memories | Increased conscious access | Reduced suppression from defense mechanisms (e.g. experiential avoidance patterns) | Potential for recovering memories that are either weak (SEBUS) or blocked by defense mechanisms (REBUS) |
| False memories | Misleading vividness | Reduced reality monitoring | High probability of false memories through combination of reduced meta-cognition (REBUS) and enhanced perception (SEBUS) |
| Personal transformation | Increased perceptual and imaginative abilities enhancing capacity for visualizing desired goals and undesired consequences of behavior patterns | Letting go of rigid beliefs via relaxation of internal working models | Greatest opportunities for change by allowing new patterns (REBUS) to be explored with high experiential intensity (SEBUS) |
| Dissociation | Indirect consequence of fusion with experience | Relaxation of core beliefs related to selfhood | Different combinations of SEBUS and REBUS effects could contribute to different kinds of dissociative experiences in highly variable ways |
| Ego death | Potential consequence of extreme absorption causing a collapse of temporally deep and counterfactually rich modeling by which extended selfhood is actively inferred/constructed | Extreme relaxation of core beliefs related to both extended and embodied selfhood | Ego-death-related self-restructuring from intensely experienced (SEBUS) selfless/nondual experiences (REBUS and possibly SEBUS via extreme absorption) |
| Ontological shock | Strong experiences causing extreme updating of core (and potentially stabilizing) beliefs (REBUS effects via SEBUS effects) | Difficulty integrating experiences not structured according to internal working models of self and world | Similar explanation as for ego death in terms of combining intense experiences (SEBUS) outside of normal modes of sense-making (REBUS) |
| Delusional (but potentially generative with respect to creativity) cognition | Misleading vividness resulting in poorly evidenced models becoming resistant to updating/falsification | Relaxation of beliefs relating to active reality monitoring and epistemic hygiene | Kindling delusions (and some forms of creativity) by combining relaxed prior models (REBUS) with strengthened novel information (SEBUS) |
| Conversion experiences (e.g. adopting new religions, altered political affiliations) | Intense experience of an alternative reality provided by set/setting | Making core beliefs subject to updating/falsification via relaxation | Radical transformation of overarching narratives with respect to self/world by combining relaxed core beliefs (REBUS) with strengthened suggested beliefs (SEBUS) |
| Personality change | Increased ability to perceive and pursue new goals | Relaxation of internal working models creating a space within which new characteristic adaptations may form | Exploring and being updated by intensely experienced (SEBUS) alternative ways of being (REBUS) |
SEBUS and REBUS columns indicate, respectively, strengthened and relaxed beliefs, potentially primarily observed with, respectively, low-to-moderate and moderate-to-high levels of 5-HT2a agonism. ALBUS indicates a mixture of both SEBUS and REBUS effects, with potentially highly variable combinations as a function of set, setting, and substance/dosing. This table is neither meant to be exhaustive nor definitive.
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