Adam Barrett

Introduction Current Neuroscience studies how the brain generates and regulates behavior, emotional states, and mental activity in animals and humans. But this has not always been so. Until the 1950s, the study of the brain focused on the cellular organization of nervous tissue, on the functional aspects of action potentials, and on all the experience gained from clinical studies related to the various pathologies that affect the brain.

1. Introduction 1.1. Background The five books of writing, which also contain dozens of drawings, and the half-hour film, which issued from Henri Michaux's psychonautic self-experimentation with mescaline during the 1950's and 1960's (Michaux, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1966; Duvivier, 1963), have been described as the century's “most sustained and creative” engagement with this particular psychedelic (Jay, 2019; p. 211).

The Rising Stars topic serves as a forum for new directions and emerging trends in consciousness research, showcasing high-quality work of early-stage researchers. Compared to platforms highlighting dominant paradigms and established viewpoints (Srinivasan et al., 2023), this Research Topic presents new independent ideas with promising scientific impact.