Kosmos – A Theory of Psychedelic Experience by Peter Webster puts forth a theory that the the amplification of salience (that things stand out/be noticed) is the most important neurocognitive effect of psychedelics.
Publisher Summary
“The recent renewal of the study of psychedelic drugs is a welcome but long overdue undertaking. Had such work not been interrupted for many decades, today’s world might be quite different. KOSMOS is an exposition of my own independent research on the subject, begun in the late 1960s and continuing sporadically ever since. I have attempted to answer not only the obvious questions about psychedelics, but to assemble a comprehensive Theory of Psychedelic Experience, covering topics as diverse as anthropology, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, chemistry, history, religion and revolution.
The central idea to which all these explorations lead is the paradigm-shifting theory that the principal – and perhaps the only important neurocognitive effect of LSD and similar psychedelics is the amplification of perceived salience. The recent discovery and characterization of the Salience Network (1) (2), and a few other recent papers (3) that propose that the psychedelic experience is “meaning enhancing”, confirm that hypotheses advanced in my early writing in the 1990s anticipated today’s research developments.
KOSMOS then continues with an evaluation of how psychedelics and salience enhancement might have played a role in human evolution, the rise of Greek Civilization, and the radicalization and protest movements of the 1960s. A few personal stories from my past 50 years’ interest in psychedelics spice up the book so that it might be enjoyed by all.“
(1) Menon V. (2015) Salience Network. In: Arthur W. Toga, editor. Brain Mapping: An Encyclopedic Reference, vol. 2, p. 597. Academic Press: Elsevier.
(2) Steven L. Bressler and Vinod Menon: “Large-scale brain networks in cognition: emerging methods and principles” Feature Review in Trends in Cognitive Sciences 14 (2010) 277-290.
(3) Ido Hartogsohn: “The Meaning-Enhancing Properties of Psychedelics and Their Mediator Role in Psychedelic Therapy, Spirituality, and Creativity” Front. Neurosci., 06 March 2018
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