Neurotransmissions

An interdisciplinary selection of 23 essays first presented at Breaking Convention 2013, the 2nd conference on psychedelic consciousness, culture and clinical research, held at the University of Greenwich, London.

This book presents an interdisciplinary selection of 23 essays first presented at Breaking Convention 2013, the 2nd conference on psychedelic consciousness, culture and clinical research, held at the University of Greenwich, London.

The conference is the largest of its kind in the world, featuring more than 120 academic presentations biennially.

Neurotransmissions spans the sciences and humanities, from philosophy and neuroscience though chemical models of action into clinical uses, with a special emphasis on MDMA.

Cross-cultural approaches explore the use of psychedelics in New Guinea, Central and South America, British free festivals, electronic music and backwards in time to the ancient civilisations of India and Rome.

The journey ends with an exploration of the role of psychedelics in artistic expression, spirituality and death. In the final chapter, Neurotransmissions presents the only published account of the world's first pure DMT trip.

Contributors
Cameron Adams, Allan Badiner, Chiara Baldini, Alexander Beiner, Matthew Clark, Rick Doblin, Henry Dosedla, Andrew R. Gallimore, Sam Gandy, Oli Genn-Bash, Jack Hunter, Dave King, David Luke, Robin Mackenzie, José Eliézer Mikosz, Michael Mithoefer, Maria Papaspyrou, Andy Roberts, William Rowlandson, Deirdre Ruane, Ben Sessa, Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, Graham St John, Aimee Tollan, Julian Vayne

David Luke is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich. He is coeditor of Neurotransmissions: Psychedelic Essays from Breaking Convention (Strange Attractor), Talking with the Spirits: Ethnographies from Between the Worlds, and Breaking Convention: Essays in Psychedelic Consciousness (Strange Attractor); editor of Ecopsychology and the Psychedelic Experience; and coauthor of the textbook Anomalistic Psychology. He is director of the Ecology, Cosmos and Consciousness salon at the Institute of Ecotechnics, London, and is a cofounder and director of Breaking Convention: Multidisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Consciousness.