Emulating Entheogens to Enhance Empathy

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March 2023

Received funding for project.

April 2023

Will begin running participants.

4000+

Expected total number of participants.

Study Status

  • Protocol Design

  • Data Collection

  • Data Analysis

  • Manuscript(s) Preparation

  • Publication

About
Protocol 005 (E4002)
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Characterizing the neurophysiological and behavioral profile of aesthetic chills

With funding from the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation and Joy Ventures, The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies will be conducting a series of basic research studies aimed at 1) building a gradient of aesthethic chills and 2) evaluate the potential of chills stimuli as psychoplasthogens (as evidenced by signature of brain criticality) and empatheogens.

Extending on past results from online studies at the institute, E4-F02 will further validate chills in selected stimuli from within experience (via state-report), physiology (via peripheral measures), neural signatures (entropy measures via sparse EEG), psychological shifts (via self-reported awe, ego-dissolution and non-ordinary experience) and behavioral outcomes (prosocial behavior, moral decision-making, dispositional empathy).

This study will investigate what causes chills, what they mean for emotions and social behavior, and how technologies could be designed to boost positive reactions. We are interested in understanding a feeling called "chills" - when you get goosebumps or shivers down your spine in response to something positive or meaningful.

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About

Identify individualized pro-social chills-eliciting content

With funding from the Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies will be conducting a series of basic research studies aimed at developing a multisensory intervention that approximates the subjective/neural states and deep changes in prosocial belief and behavior associated with entheogenic, non-ordinary experience. A key component of this eventual intervention is interoceptive stimulation, achieved via aesthetic “chills” known to increase prosocial inclination. As a first step, we must conduct a pilot study to assess the “chills”-evoking properties of a pre-selected set of video stimuli, in order to (I) isolate the most universally-chills evoking stimuli ; (II) determine trait characteristics that predict chills; and (III) examine the correlations between chills and self-report outcome measures of prosociality.

E4001
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Posts

Outcomes

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

  • Christov-Moore, L. (2024). The Science of Flourishing. Transform Conference. Los Angeles, Nevada. [Talk]

2023

  • Moore, C. (2023, October 25-26). Emulating Entheogens for Enhancing Empathy. Compassion 2.0, San Francisco, CA. [Talk] [Supplemental]

2024

2023

2024

  • Christov-Moore, L., Reggente, N. (June 2024). Predicting Empathy from Task-Positive Connectivity Patterns Within Task-Free Data: A Cross-Cohort Approach. Organization for Human Brain Mapping, South Korea. [Poster]
  • Christov-Moore, L., Schoeller, F., Reggente, N. (July 2024). Aesthetic Chills: A Replicable Path to Self-Transcendence. Association for the Scientific Studies of Consciousness, Japan. [Poster]
Contributors

Project Contributors

Rodney Sappington, Ph.D.

Research Consultant

Micah Johnson, Ph.D.

Research Consultant

Carson D. Kelly

VP of Marketing & Development

Leonardo Christov-Moore, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist

Félix Schoeller, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist

Ninette Simonian

Lab Manager; Junior Research Scientist

Nicco Reggente IACS headshot

Nicco Reggente, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Caitlin Lynch

Junior Research Scientist

Funded By

Funded By

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