- Author
- Posted by gnabgib, with replies from many commenters
- Published
- 28 August 2025
- Kind
- Hacker News discussion thread about a 2025 PLOS ONE brain-imaging study
- Original
- news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45046916
- Subject
- Music listening and scenes
What it is
Gnabgib posted a 2025 PLOS ONE paper by Kartar and colleagues on breathwork. The paper says such breathing can evoke states like those from psychedelics. Readers replied with experiences and criticism. The thread is the source described here.
What it says
- The linked paper ties altered-state intensity to sympathetic activation and brain blood flow changes.
- The commenter another_twist objects that the study had 42 participants split into small groups.
- The commenter ada1981 offers free breathwork sessions, drawing questions about credentials and consent.
- Commenters link the technique to pranayama, holotropic breathwork and other older practices.
- Commenters describe light-and-sound machines and apps that they say produce similar states.
- The commenter j-pb says self-induced seizures have long been read as spiritual experiences.
- The commenter tavavex says the thread mixes rational observers, psychedelic users and religious people.
What evidence it gives
Most replies are personal accounts. A few commenters quote the paper and cite Wikipedia and books. One long comment makes health claims that others rebut as false. The paper measured brain blood flow and heart rate variability.
Interests and limits
The commenters are self-selected readers on one site. Some promote a service, and some make unsupported health claims. The linked paper was read only through its abstract, introduction and start of methods. Its results are not summarized here.