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Essay On LSD

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Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience regarding the effect of certain psychedelic drugs on semantic activation has produced somewhat contradicting results. For some studies, as mentioned by the Neiloufar Family et al. (2016), an increase in semantic associations and focus has been found. Other studies, such as that of Spitzer et al. (1996) that served as a reference for the study conducted by the Neiloufar Family et al. (2016), found an enhancing effect on the indirect semantic priming in the drugged individuals, as well as more unpredictable psychological functioning and brain activity. The Neiloufar Family et al. attempted to replicate this effect of spreading semantic activation within participants that were under the …show more content…

What was meant by this is that these errors and self-corrections can reveal the relations between the actual picture content and the individuals thought processes (e.g. if the image was of a hat but the individual answered with the word “head”, a near relationship is shown). The results of this experiment suggest a link between the effects of psychedelics, such as LSD, and an increased spread of semantic activation that leads to a generalizing effect. The ability to use precise and specific language in identification became more difficult for the individuals. Although the overall accuracy of the individuals within the task was quite high, the errors and self-corrections allowed for the conclusion that a more generalized activation of semantic areas was present. The small sample size within this experiment does not allow for sufficient generalizations among individuals in the population. As was mentioned within the limitations of the study (Neiloufar Family et al., 2016), a more consistent time interval between injection and task onset should be incorporated to control for “peak” drug effects and performance within that time frame. An overall more structured time schedule for this type of experiment could be beneficial in gaining a more accurate time log of the effects of the drug. Neuroimaging equipment, such as an

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