Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Why do psychedelics cause vivid geometric patterns? Simple visual hallucinations, such as Klüver forms and phosphenes captivate researchers due to their cross-cultural prevalence and neural underpinnings. This talk explores how the brain’s visual cortex processes these phenomena; using retinotopic mapping to explain visual organisation and mathematical modelling to reveal self-organising dynamics. With most 5HT2A receptors concentrated in the visual cortex, psychedelics uniquely amplify these neural processes. These mechanisms, observed across a range of altered states, not only clarify the origins of these hallucinations but also deepen our understanding of perception and consciousness.
Bio:
Shayam is a PhD candidate at KCL and UCL, researching the effects of LSD on time perception using neuroimaging and neurophenomenology. When he is not in the lab, he is in the jungle with Onaya Science, contributing to Ayahuasca research at the intersection of indigenous medicine and Western science. Additionally, he supports harm reduction initiatives through the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project. Through his work, he hopes to bridge the phenomenological and neuronal aspects of consciousness.
Why do psychedelics cause vivid geometric patterns? Simple visual hallucinations, such as Klüver forms and phosphenes captivate researchers due to their cross-cultural prevalence and neural underpinnings. This talk explores how the brain’s visual cortex processes these phenomena; using retinotopic mapping to explain visual organisation and mathematical modelling to reveal self-organising dynamics. With most 5HT2A receptors concentrated in the visual cortex, psychedelics uniquely amplify these neural processes. These mechanisms, observed across a range of altered states, not only clarify the origins of these hallucinations but also deepen our understanding of perception and consciousness.
Bio:
Shayam is a PhD candidate at KCL and UCL, researching the effects of LSD on time perception using neuroimaging and neurophenomenology. When he is not in the lab, he is in the jungle with Onaya Science, contributing to Ayahuasca research at the intersection of indigenous medicine and Western science. Additionally, he supports harm reduction initiatives through the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project. Through his work, he hopes to bridge the phenomenological and neuronal aspects of consciousness.
