For decades, psychedelics have maintained a niche but dedicated following of users because of their potent hallucinogenic effects. Some people have gone through such intense psychedelic experiences that they have experienced
Now that researchers worldwide are studying psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA for their therapeutic potential, scientists, clinicians and even psychedelic enthusiasts are even more interested in how hallucinogenics affect the human mind.
One of the most prevalent questions so far is why psychedelic trips often cause users to see geometric visual hallucinations. These kinds of hallucinations involve seeing complex geometric patterns and shapes. They often involve Euclidean symmetry, a kind of shape and pattern symmetry that relies on the principles of Euclidean geometry.
A paper written in 2000 began investigating this phenomenon long before the so-called psychedelic renaissance. The paper classified the geometric visual hallucinations into four form contestants. The first group comprised lattices, gratings, filigrees, fretworks, chequer boards and honeycombs; the second group consisted of cobwebs; the third group comprised vessels, alleys, tunnels, cones and funnels; and the final group was spirals.
Alongside contributions from mathematicians in several universities and researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, the paper indicates that mathematics, more specifically geometry, may allow us to understand the underlying mechanisms of visual geometric hallucinations during psychedelic experiences.
In the paper, researchers used shape theory and mathematics to theorize that a certain region of the retinal visual cortex coupled with associated neuronal circuity may be responsible for geometric hallucinations. They posited that psychedelic hallucinations might arise due to “patterns of connections” between the retinal visual cortex and associated neural circuits. The striate cortex, in particular, plays a major role in vision as it contains elements that decipher visual information, such as edges, orientations, and lines.
These elements are organized in such a way that they interact with neighboring cells, allowing the brain to process visual information efficiently.
The authors of the 2000 study theorized that the structural organization of elements within the striate cortex might cause geometric visual hallucinations when psychedelics disrupt activity in this area. Psychedelic use may activate cells that are associated with certain visual features (geometric shapes and patterns) and triggers visual geometric hallucinations.
While the study did not point to a specific brain region as the sole cause of geometric hallucinations, it highlighted the relationship between striate cortex functioning and geometric visual hallucinations following psychedelic use.
More is likely to be revealed about the specific ways through which psychedelics affect the brain as startups such as Delic Holdings Corp. (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) conduct their product-development programs.
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