Trial reportPloS one2021
Altered states phenomena induced by visual flicker light stimulation.
Trial report in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lightening the mind with audiovisual stimulation as an accessible alternative to breath-focused meditation for mood and cognitive enhancement.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Altered states of consciousness caused by a mindfulness-based programme up to a year later: Results from a randomised controlled trial.PloS one · 2024Trial
- The Light-Eye-Brain Axis: Neurobiological Links Between Mood Disorders and Myopia-A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- From dots to faces: individual differences in visual imagery capacity predict the content of Ganzflicker-induced hallucinations.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2026Article
- Stroboscopic light stimulation safety within and beyond laboratory settings: Observational evidence and practical guidance.PloS one · 2026Article
- Mapping of Subjective Accounts into Interpreted Clusters (MOSAIC): Topic Modelling and LLM applied to Stroboscopic Phenomenology.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2026Article
- Phenomenology of Psychedelic Experiences and Psychedelic-Associated Distressing Effects: Quantifying Subjective Experiences.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Aquahenosis: a non-pharmacological altered state of consciousness induced by floatation-REST in individuals with anxiety and depression.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2026Article
- Stroboscopic light stimulation as a controllable probe of the psilocybin state: a mechanistic framework and a falsifiable prediction.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Stroboscopically induced visual hallucinations: historical, phenomenological, and neurobiological perspectives.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2025Review
- Thalamocortical interactions reflecting the intensity of flicker light-induced visual hallucinatory phenomena.Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- The mechanistic divide in psychedelic neuroscience: An unbridgeable gap?Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Review
- Visual hallucinations induced by Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld differ in frequency, complexity, and content.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- A novel model of divergent predictive perception.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2024Article
- Flicker light stimulation enhances the emotional response to music: a comparison study to the effects of psychedelics.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Flicker light stimulation induces thalamocortical hyperconnectivity with LGN and higher-order thalamic nuclei.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2023Article
- Effect of frequency and rhythmicity on flicker light-induced hallucinatory phenomena.PloS one · 2023Article
- The Altered States Database: Psychometric data from a systematic literature review.Scientific data · 2022Article
- The altered state of consciousness induced by Δ9-THC.Consciousness and cognition · 2022Article
- Virtual Reality as a Moderator of Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Flicker light stimulation can induce short-term alterations in consciousness including hallucinatory color perception and geometric patterns. In the study at hand, the subjective experiences during 3 Hz and 10 Hz stroboscopic light stimulation of the closed eyes were assessed. In a within-subjects design (N = 24), we applied the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (mood state), time perception ratings, the Altered State of Consciousness Rating Scale, and the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory. Furthermore, we tested for effects of personality traits (NEO Five-Factor Inventory-2 and Tellegen Absorption Scale) on subjective experiences. Such systematic quantification improves replicability, facilitates comparisons between pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques to induce altered states of consciousness, and is the prerequisite to study their underlying neuronal mechanisms. The resulting data showed that flicker light stimulation-induced states were characterized by vivid visual hallucinations of simple types, with effects strongest in the 10 Hz condition. Additionally, participants' personality trait of Absorption scores highly correlated with the experienced alterations in consciousness. Our data demonstrate that flicker light stimulation is capable of inducing visual effects with an intensity rated to be similar in strength to effects induced by psychedelic substances and thereby support the investigation of potentially shared underlying neuronal mechanisms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.