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Tag Archives: Divisions
US pushes Saudi Arabia and UAE to heal divisions over Yemen – Financial Times
- US pushes Saudi Arabia and UAE to heal divisions over Yemen Financial Times
- Secretary Blinken’s Participation in the U.S.-KSA-UAE Trilateral Meeting on Peace in Yemen and Other Regional Priorities – United States Department of State Department of State
- Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan Before Their Meeting – United States Department of State Department of State
- Secretary Antony J. Blinken Before His Meeting with Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council President Rashad al-Alimi – United States Department of State Department of State
- Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Meeting with Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States – United States Department of State Department of State
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Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs across divisions – reports
Jan 17 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to cut thousands of jobs with some roles expected to be eliminated in human resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports on Tuesday.
The expected layoffs would be the latest in the U.S. technology sector, where companies including Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) have announced retrenchment exercises in response to slowing demand and a worsening global economic outlook.
Microsoft’s move could indicate that the tech sector may continue to shed jobs.
“From a big picture perspective, another pending round of layoffs at Microsoft suggests the environment is not improving, and likely continues to worsen,” Morningstar analyst Dan Romanoff said.
U.K broadcaster Sky News reported, citing sources, that Microsoft plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, or about 11,000 roles.
The company plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting staff by as much as one-third.
The cuts will be significantly larger than other rounds in the past year, the Bloomberg report said.
Microsoft declined to comment on the reports.
The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to filings.
Microsoft is under pressure to maintain growth rates at its cloud unit Azure, after several quarters of downturn in the personal computer market hurt Windows and devices sales.
It had said in July last year that a small number of roles had been eliminated. In October, news site Axios reported that Microsoft had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions.
Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on Jan. 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading.
Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sriraj Kalluvila
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
PepsiCo to lay off ‘hundreds’ in snack and beverage divisions: WSJ
PepsiCo Inc.
PEP,
-1.38%
is laying off “hundreds” of workers at the headquarters of its North American snacks and beverages divisions, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Hundreds of jobs will be eliminated, one of the people told the newspaper. In a memo to staff viewed by the Journal, PepsiCo told employees that the goal was to simplify the organization so it can operate “more efficiently.” Shares of Pepsi were flat in the extended session Monday after ending the regular trading day down 1.4%. Several major tech companies, including Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
-3.31%
and Google parent Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
-0.96%
GOOG,
-0.95%
are conducting or planning layoffs or have embarked on hiring freezes, and some retailers such as Walmart.com
WMT,
-1.02%
have followed suit.
Class Divisions Harden Into Battle Lines in Arizona’s Republican Primary
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — As Shardé Walter’s family cut back on everything from camping trips to Eggo waffles to balance their inflation-strained budget this summer, she became more and more fed up with the Republicans who have governed Arizona for more than a decade.
“You’ve got those hoity-toity Republicans, and then you’ve got ones like me — just trying to live,” Ms. Walter, 36, said as she waited for former President Donald J. Trump to arrive at a rally on Friday for his slate of candidates in Arizona’s bitterly fought Republican primaries.
“We’re busting our asses off,” she continued, “but we’re broke for no reason.”
The Aug. 2 Republican primary in Arizona has been cast as a party-defining contest between traditional Republicans and Trump loyalists, with the power to reshape a political battleground at the heart of fights over voting rights and fair elections. Several leading Republican candidates in Arizona for governor, secretary of state, attorney general and U.S. Senate have made lies about the “stolen” 2020 election a centerpiece of their campaigns.
But the choice between traditional conservatives and Trump-backed firebrands is also tapping into working-class conservatives’ frustrations with a state economic and political system firmly controlled by Republicans, highlighting the gap between voters who have profited from Arizona’s rising home values and tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy, and those who feel left out and are eager to punish the Republican establishment at the ballot box.
“It’s like ‘The Great Gatsby’ — old versus new,” said Mike Noble, the chief of research with the polling firm OH Predictive Insights, which is based in Phoenix. “It’s a very telling moment for the G.O.P. Are they going the way of MAGA, or the McCain-Goldwater conservative way that gave them dominance over the state?”
National surveys of Republicans show that voters’ views of Mr. Trump and the 2020 election are fracturing along lines of education.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released this month found that 64 percent of Republican primary voters without a college degree believed that Mr. Trump was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. Forty-four percent of Republican voters with a bachelor’s degree or more said Mr. Trump was the winner.
Mr. Trump was still a clear favorite for Republican voters with a high school degree or less, with 62 percent saying they would vote for him in the 2024 Republican presidential primary if the election were held today. Less than 30 percent of Republican primary voters with college degrees said they would vote for Mr. Trump.
In Arizona, the Republican establishment has coalesced around Karrin Taylor Robson, a wealthy real estate developer pitching herself as a competent leader who has been reliably conservative ever since her days as a staff member in the Reagan White House.
The Trump wing of the party is locked in behind Kari Lake, a Trump-endorsed former news anchor who has stoked an anti-establishment rebellion fueled by falsehoods about the 2020 election and provocations like vowing to bomb smuggling tunnels on the southern border.
Ms. Robson has cut into Ms. Lake’s early lead in the polls, but recent surveys suggest that Ms. Lake is still ahead.
A forthcoming poll of 650 Arizona Republican primary voters by Alloy Analytics found a 10-point lead for Ms. Lake, largely on her strength with working-class voters, though other surveys show a much tighter race. Ms. Lake had a 15-point edge with voters whose families earn less than $50,000 a year. Republicans earning more than $200,000 a year supported Ms. Robson by 14-point margin.
Ms. Robson has lent her campaign $15 million and blanketed local television with ads. She has racked up a long list of endorsements from law-enforcement groups, Arizona’s three living Republican governors and prominent national Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.
Both women are running as anti-abortion, pro-gun, pro-wall conservatives who vow to mobilize law enforcement to address what they call a migrant invasion. Neither misses a chance to excoriate President Biden and Democrats for inflation, crime or culture-war flash points like critical race theory.
Each has tried to claim the mantle of the only true conservative in the race. In a debate, Ms. Lake attacked Ms. Robson for refusing to join other candidates in raising her hand and declaring — falsely — that the 2020 election had been stolen. Ms. Robson tells voters that 2020 was “not fair,” pointing to news media bias and pandemic-driven changes to voting rules. In a recent CNN appearance, she declined to say whether she would have certified the 2020 results, as Mr. Ducey did.
In an interview, Ms. Robson said Ms. Lake’s posture as a conservative “has no basis in truth,” and her campaign attacked Ms. Lake for once supporting former President Barack Obama.
“She’s a really good actress,” Ms. Robson said. “We have real issues we have to deal with, from water to housing to inflation.”
Ms. Lake’s populist homilies and story of a Trump-era political awakening resonate with nontraditional conservatives who say they feel left out of mainstream Republican politics. Ms. Lake’s campaign did not grant an interview.
Moderates say that they simply want a reliable Republican to hold the governor’s seat, and that they are reassured by Ms. Robson’s reams of endorsements and policy plans.
On Friday, the divisions between the two candidates came into sharp focus at competing rallies where Ms. Robson was cheered on by Mr. Pence, and Mr. Trump appeared alongside Ms. Lake.
In Peoria, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, the rally for Ms. Robson felt like a supersized Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Hundreds of voters in Casual Friday polo shirts and summer-weight blouses sat eating barbecue inside a plant that makes military-style tactical gear as Mr. Pence and Gov. Doug Ducey gave speeches endorsing Ms. Robson as a keep-the-faith conservative.
Later that evening at the Trump event, Ms. Lake derided Mr. Ducey as a “weakling” on border security and “do-nothing Ducey.” Mr. Ducey has earned Mr. Trump’s wrath for certifying Mr. Biden’s 10,000-vote victory in Arizona, even as he signed a new voter-identification law opposed by Democrats and has supported fringe right-wing politicians like State Senator Wendy Rogers.
Ms. Robson’s supporters said they, too, felt pinched by rising prices, but, more urgently, they wanted their next governor to be an electable conservative instead of a bomb-throwing heir to Mr. Trump.
“The things she’s worried about, we’re worried about,” said Barb Leonard, 55, who works in software and lives in Scottsdale. “The border, the economy, police.”
Some voters said they did not buy the falsehoods about election fraud that Mr. Trump and Ms. Lake have been peddling for months. Others said they wanted Republicans to stop fixating on the 2020 election and focus instead on border security, school funding and bipartisan laws to cope with Arizona’s worsening drought, water shortages and wildfires.
Political analysts in Arizona said that some voters appeared to be rallying around Ms. Robson as the least divisive general-election choice. Democrats are expected to nominate Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who defended Arizona’s election system against attacks from Mr. Trump and his allies.
“I don’t want to raise kids in a country that hates each other,” said Derek Weech, 23, a Brigham Young University student and a supporter of Ms. Robson who is working on starting his own business. “Focusing on the last election will not get us to victory.”
So far, Republican primaries this year have been a mixed bag for Trump-endorsed candidates running on election denialism. J.D. Vance, the “Hillbilly Elegy” author, won his primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio. Doug Mastriano won the Republican governor’s primary in Pennsylvania after leading efforts to overturn the 2020 election results there.
But last month in Colorado, Republican voters nominated a businessman who accepted the 2020 election results in a competitive U.S. Senate race. In Georgia, voters delivered a stinging defeat to Mr. Trump by overwhelmingly supporting the incumbent Republican governor and secretary of state who both refused to overturn the 2020 election results there.
In Prescott Valley, the anti-establishment message and an appearance from Mr. Trump was enough to draw thousands of supporters through the doors.
They poured into an arena wearing their defiance and frustration on T-shirts that read, “Trump Won,” “Jihadi Joe” and “Let’s Go Brandon,” the thinly veiled profanity toward Mr. Biden.
As Ms. Lake spoke to the crowd, she received rapturous applause with every dig at Mr. Biden and call to finish the border wall. But one of the biggest cheers came when she mentioned her plan to let high-schoolers focus on learning trades after their sophomore year.
That idea instantly won over Bruce Laughlin, a retired auto technician, and his wife, Cheryl, a dental assistant.
“Neither of us went to college,” Ms. Laughlin said.
“We need carpenters. We need plumbers,” her husband said. “They’ve been totally ignored.”
Janet Olson, 50, said soaring gas, electricity and grocery bills made it feel as if she was not sharing in Arizona’s prosperity. She has just enough left over every month for one indulgence; on Friday, she pumped her last $9.95 into her truck and drove from outside Phoenix to the mountains to see Ms. Lake and Mr. Trump.
“Every month it’s harder,” Ms. Olson said.
She said she felt alienated from Arizona’s mainline Republican Party, but at home with the people waiting with her in concessions lines to buy bottled water $4.50 and nachos for $5.
“We don’t want bow ties and caviar,” Ms. Olson said. “We want corn dogs and funnel cakes. And Kari Lake.”
Will Davis contributed reporting.
GOP faces divisions over siding with Ukraine against Russia
Republicans are pushing President BidenJoe BidenFormer chairman of Wisconsin GOP party signals he will comply with Jan. 6 committee subpoena Romney tests positive for coronavirus Pelosi sidesteps progressives’ March 1 deadline for Build Back Better MORE to be tougher on Russia over its aggression toward Ukraine, but their isolationist far-right flank is denying them unity on the issue.
Some of former President Trump
Top GOP leaders espousing the party’s traditional hawkish views have urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions and bolster Ukraine’s military capacity to counter Russia’s troop buildup along their shared border in recent weeks after its past invasion of Crimea in 2014.
But Republicans more closely aligned with Trump — who during his presidency at times expressed pro-Russia sentiment — argue that America should stay out of it.
“Despite claims by war hawks on both sides of the aisle, it is not in our national interest to spill American blood and treasure in Ukraine. A nation that cannot effectively secure its own border and protect its own territorial integrity cannot be responsible for doing so for nations in Eastern Europe,” said Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.).
“Russia invading Ukraine is not an immediate threat to the security of the American people, homeland, and way of life. The flow of dangerous drugs, crime, and criminals over our sovereign border is,” echoed Rep. Paul Gosar
Others are suggesting, without evidence, that Biden’s actions to side with Ukraine could benefit the business interests of his son, Hunter, who previously served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
The Defense Department announced Monday that 8,500 U.S. troops were placed on “heightened alert” for potential deployment to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO defense forces, though Biden has emphasized he will not be putting puts on the ground in Ukraine itself. That came after Biden met with Defense Department officials at Camp David over the weekend to discuss his options.
Biden said Friday that he’ll be “moving U.S. troops to Eastern Europe” in “the near term.”
“What I’ve been hearing since then is encouraging, that they’re prepared to take steps before an incursion, not afterwards,” McConnell said at a news conference in Kentucky.
The GOP divide was further exemplified by a combative appearance by Rep. Michael Turner (Ohio), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, on Fox News host Tucker Carlson
Turner had signed a letter with several other Republicans in November urging the Biden administration to deploy a U.S. military presence in the Black Sea to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Carlson, one of the most influential figures on the far right, asked Turner to explain to viewers “why it is in America’s interest as their kids risk their lives in Ukraine.”
“I mean, who’s got the energy reserves? Who is the major player in world affairs? Who is the potential counterbalance against China, which is the actual threat? Why would we take Ukraine’s side? Why wouldn’t we have Russia’s side?” Carlson asked.
“Ukraine is a democracy. Russia is an authoritarian regime that is seeking to impose its will upon a validly elected democracy in Ukraine. And we’re on the side of democracy,” Turner responded.
“I am for democracy in other countries, I guess, but I’m really for America,” Carlson said.
“Sure you are,” Turner replied.
When asked to reflect on that interview and other Republicans echoing Carlson’s argument, Turner expressed frustration that the idea of siding against an authoritarian regime was up for debate. And he warned that it could undermine America’s standing abroad as an advocate for democracies.
“This debate about, you know, who should we be for is very, very disappointing,” Turner told CNN’s Jake Tapper
“We’re the light of freedom and liberty. And when we cease to be for that, then our own values are at risk,” he added.
Carlson’s influence isn’t limited to putting a squeeze on a divided GOP.
Rep. Tom Malinowski
“My office is now getting calls from folks who say they watch Tucker Carlson and are upset that we’re not siding with Russia in its threats to invade Ukraine, and who want me to support Russia’s ‘reasonable’ positions,” tweeted Malinowski, who was part of a congressional delegation that traveled to the Ukrainian capital this week.
Lawmakers in both parties are in discussions about legislation to impose sanctions on Russia, including some that would be enacted immediately and others that would take effect if it actually invades Ukraine. Top Democrats in the House and Senate have both introduced sanctions legislation, but they’re also eyeing potential changes to bring Republicans on board.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
In the meantime, House GOP leaders are trying to score points on an area where the party is more unified when it comes to Ukraine: Resentment over Trump’s first impeachment in 2019, which was related to his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to launch an investigation into Hunter Biden’s business interests.
After the Biden administration and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released competing takeaways of a call held Thursday, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik
“President Biden’s weakness on the world stage has emboldened America’s enemies, abandoned our allies, and put us in the midst of an international crisis. Now, the Biden administration is playing a game of ‘he said, she said’ regarding yesterday’s call with President Zelenskyy,” Stefanik and Jordan said in a joint statement on Friday.
Opinion: The Novak Djokovic saga has turned the spotlight on deep divisions in Australian society
Had things gone according to Djokovic’s plans, he would have arrived in Australia Wednesday night and be out on Rod Laver Arena in the Melbourne summer sun by Friday at the latest, working out the kinks from the flight and preparing for the Australian Open.
But somewhere along the way, the information pipeline involving Australian Open officials, the Victorian state government and federal authorities has become a game of broken telephone.
And with state and federal elections due this year, the high-profile Djokovic drama is an opportunity for politicians to show off their tough stance on Covid-19 rule-breakers.
Djokovic got a taste a year ago of how Australians treat the tall poppies — the ones who stick their heads above the rest and expect special treatment. A smaller group of tennis players and support staff traveled to last year’s Australian Open and faced a two-week quarantine before they could compete.
In the end, Djokovic’s hubris hasn’t helped. But no one — not the various levels of government, not Tennis Australia and Tiley — come out of this looking good. And if Djokovic’s lawyer makes a convincing case before the judge on Monday, and his client does arrive at Melbourne Park ready to compete, the Aussie fans will be sure to give him the “welcome” they feel he deserves.
Democratic divisions on advancing Biden’s agenda broader than just Manchin
And it’s more than just Manchin and Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema who are opposed to changing Senate rules so a filibuster can be defeated by 51 votes, rather than 60: The two New Hampshire Democratic senators are resisting those calls as well, in addition to several others who are not yet persuaded that such a change is necessary.
“No,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, told CNN when asked if she would support eliminating the 60-vote threshold. “I think we should look at ways to reform the filibuster, but I don’t think getting rid of it is the best approach.”
New Hampshire’s junior Democratic senator, Maggie Hassan, who faces a tough reelection bid next year, also has “concerns about eliminating the filibuster,” a spokesperson said, though backs some reforms.
Manchin, a conservative West Virginia Democrat, told CNN repeatedly in an interview that “no,” he will not cave to pressure to gut the 60-vote threshold, even if Republicans block a voting rights bill. Democrats had hoped that a likely GOP filibuster on their party’s bill to expand voting access and overhaul the elections would be enough to convince Manchin and others to do away with the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold — given the onslaught of Republican-led efforts on the state level to impose new restrictions.
But Manchin made clear that a Republican blockade of a voting bill won’t change his mind.
“No, it will not, no, no,” said Manchin, who also wants changes to his party’s election bill, S.1., before considering supporting it. “They are reading that totally wrong.”
Manchin added he won’t give up trying to cut deals with Republicans, even as many of his colleagues see little chance that the GOP will try to advance Biden’s goals and see now as the best opportunity to pass Democrats’ agenda with the prospects of a Republican takeover in the 2022 midterms very real.
“Here’s the thing I will say to all my colleagues: When’s the last time you had dinner with one of them? … So don’t start telling me about, ‘Oh, you give up’ … If I give up on that, I give up on humanity,” Manchin said.
Democratic leaders are looking at splitting up the bill into several parts in the House. And if Republicans filibuster those plans in the Senate, they are considering tying it all together in one budget package that cannot be filibustered under the rules of the chamber, a process similar that led to the enactment of the Covid plan.
Keeping Democratic unity through that process, however, remains another question. And the White House will need all 50 Democrats on board to pass such a proposal, assuming Republicans vote in opposition.
Democrats explore a new option on guns to win over holdouts
Yet even if the filibuster were gutted, the Biden administration’s challenges wouldn’t end there.
Democratic divisions — at times — would be even more apparent without Democrats’ ability to blame Republicans for standing in their way. With a 50-50 Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Senate majority would still be razor thin and every piece of legislation would require complete unity on the part of the Democratic caucus. And Manchin isn’t the only one who could be a liability.
“I mean, look, I’m from Montana. I’ve got more than I need and fewer than I want, but background checks are important,” Tester said. “I do believe that. But you can go too far on that ship pretty fast too.”
Tester added: “I am for background checks. There is a caveat for handing down within the family and not requiring a background check.”
“I’d have to see,” Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan said when asked if he’d back the House-passed bills. “I have always supported comprehensive background checks. We have to make sure it is comprehensive… I will have to look at the details of it.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, a longtime proponent of stricter gun laws, is mapping out his party’s strategy along with Schumer and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a fellow Connecticut Democrat. He says that the divide with Republicans — who are battling any restrictions on guns, even in the wake of more mass shootings — is far greater than among Democrats. But Murphy acknowledges more work needs to be done to unify his caucus behind the House Democrats’ approach.
“Joe and I have a great personal and working relationship, but he is not the only one that is going to have changes to HR 8 that they want to entertain,” Murphy said, referring to Manchin.
Now, Senate Democrats are having discussions about modifying the House-passed bill in order to win over holdouts in their own caucus and potentially some Republicans too, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Schumer is still planning to bring up the two House bills as soon as next month to expand background checks. But since those measures have fewer than 50 votes, some Democrats are exploring whether a third option could win over at least Manchin, Tester and potentially woo some Republicans in the process.
Democrats are eager to have their caucus united behind one approach, one of the sources said, even though they almost certainly won’t have the 60 votes needed to break a GOP-led filibuster.
Yet the Democratic divisions expand beyond just guns.
Despite overwhelming support in the House for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, there were eight Senate Democrats who voted against moving ahead on the provision in February.
And during a closed-door meeting with their leadership Tuesday, Democratic senators didn’t come to a consensus about how to move forward. Some senators have pushed for raising the minimum wage to just $11 an hour, others have voiced concerns with requiring a $15 minimum wage for tipped workers. Some have argued that a regional minimum wage would make more sense, an idea rejected by progressives.
Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat who voted against the minimum wage increase in February, said he’s not opposed to some changes to the minimum wage, but that he believes the economy has to recover first.
“There were eight of us who weren’t comfortable,” Carper said. “Right now we are in the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and we may want to wait just a little later into the year. I want us to be careful we don’t have unintended consequences.”
Right now, the filibuster — while it slows down the progressive agenda– shields Democratic leaders from having to immediately contend with a caucus that isn’t always in lockstep. Without moderates like Manchin, the party would have a hard time keeping a seat in a state that Biden lost overwhelmingly last year. And with those members, the job of pushing through a liberal agenda gets harder.
“We’re a big tent party,” Peters said. “We wouldn’t be in the majority if Sen. Manchin weren’t in the caucus.”
CNN’s Sarah Fortinsky and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
LSD Lets The Brain ‘Free Itself’ From Divisions Dictated by Anatomy, Scientists Find
Where does the mind ‘meet’ the brain? While there’s no shortage of research into the effects of psychedelics, drugs like LSD still have much to teach us about the way the brain operates – and can shine a light on the mysterious interface between consciousness and neural physiology, research suggests.
In a new study investigating the effects of LSD on volunteers, scientists found that the psychedelic enables the brain to function in a way beyond what anatomy usually dictates, by altering states of dynamic integration and segregation in the human brain.
“The psychedelic compound LSD induces a profoundly altered state of consciousness,” explains first author and neuroscience researcher Andrea Luppi from the University of Cambridge.
“Combining pharmacological interventions with non-invasive brain imaging techniques such as functional MRI (fMRI) can provide insight into normal and abnormal brain function.”
The new research falls within the study of dynamic functional connectivity – the theory that brain phenomena demonstrate states of functional connectivity that change over time, much in the same way that our stream of consciousness is dynamic and always flowing.
As this happens, and the human brain processes information, it has to integrate that information into an amalgamated form of understanding – but at the same time segregate information as well, keeping distinct sensory streams separate from one another, so that they can be handled by particular neural systems.
This distinction – the dynamics of brain integration and segregation – is something that gets affected by psychedelic drugs, and with the advent of brain imaging technology, we can observe what happens when our regular functional connectivity gets disrupted.
In the study, a group of 20 healthy volunteers underwent brain scans in two separate sessions, a fortnight apart. In one of the sessions, the participants took a placebo before entering the fMRI scanner, while in the other slot, they were given an active dose of LSD.
In comparing the results from the two sessions, the researchers found that LSD untethers functional connectivity from the constraints of structural connectivity, while simultaneously altering the way that the brain handles the balancing act between integration and segregation of information.
“Our main finding is that the effects of LSD on brain function and subjective experience are not uniform in time,” Luppi says.
“In particular, the well-known feeling of ‘ego dissolution’ induced by LSD correlates with reorganisation of brain networks during a state of high global integration.”
In effect, the drug’s state of altered consciousness could be seen as an abnormal increase in the functional complexity of the brain – with the data showing moments where the brain revealed predominantly segregated patterns of functional connectivity.
In other words, the ‘ego dissolution’ of a psychedelic trip might be the subjective experience of your brain cranking up its segregation dynamics, decoupling the brain’s structure from its functioning – meaning your capacity to integrate and amalgamate separate streams of information into a unified whole becomes diminished.
“Thus, LSD appears to induce especially complex patterns of functional connectivity (FC) by inducing additional decoupling of FC from the underlying structural connectome, precisely during those times when structural-functional coupling is already at its lowest,” the authors explain in their paper.
“Due to the effects of LSD, the brain is free to explore a variety of functional connectivity patterns that go beyond those dictated by anatomy – presumably resulting in the unusual beliefs and experiences reported during the psychedelic state.”
The findings are reported in NeuroImage.