# Brain scans reveal how a woman voluntarily enters a psychedelic-like trance without drugs > **Author:** Benjamin Caplan, MD (ABFM Board Certified, MA Lic. #240562, NPI: 1962722637) > **Publisher:** CED Clinic (https://cedclinic.com) > **Canonical URL:** https://cedclinic.com/voluntary-trance-states-neuroscience-brain-scans/ > **Published:** 2026-04-06T10:23:59-04:00 | **Last Modified / Clinically Audited:** 2026-09-28T17:07:02-04:00 > **Clinical Summary:** Explore voluntary trance states neuroscience through brain scans revealing psychedelic-like experiences without drugs and their cognitive implications. --- ✦ New CED Clinical Relevance #75 Strong Clinical Relevance High-quality evidence with meaningful patient or clinical significance. NeurologyResearchMental Health Clinical Summary This article appears to conflate unrelated neuroscience findings, mixing content about cannabis-induced memory impairment with studies on exercise and brain aging, making a coherent clinical summary problematic. However, the core finding relevant to [cannabis medicine](https://cedclinic.com/essential-oils-industrial-hemp-antimicrobial-benefits/) is that cannabis intoxication produces broad impairment across multiple memory domains, which has direct implications for patient counseling regarding cognitive effects and safety during use. For clinicians prescribing cannabis therapeutically, understanding that impairment extends across different memory types (working, episodic, and semantic) rather than affecting isolated cognitive domains helps inform more comprehensive risk assessments and patient education. This memory disruption is particularly important to discuss with patients operating vehicles, managing complex medical regimens, or engaged in cognitively demanding occupations. Clinicians should counsel cannabis users that memory effects are not limited to acute intoxication duration and may affect daily functioning in ways patients underestimate. When considering cannabis for therapeutic indications, weigh these cognitive risks against potential benefits, and monitor patients for subjective memory complaints that may warrant dose reduction or discontinuation. Dr. Caplan’s Take “What we’re learning about non-pharmacological states of consciousness is clinically relevant because it demonstrates the brain’s capacity for neuroplasticity independent of cannabis or other substances, which actually reinforces why I counsel patients that cannabis should enhance their existing wellness practices rather than replace them.” Clinical Perspective While the headline emphasizes voluntary trance states without pharmacologic intervention, the accompanying summary highlighting cannabis-induced memory impairment serves as a useful clinical reminder that patients using cannabis may experience objectively measurable cognitive effects beyond subjective intoxication. The mechanisms underlying both pharmacologically-induced and self-induced altered states involve overlapping neural pathways, though the reversibility and clinical significance of non-drug-induced states differ substantially from cannabinoid effects. It remains unclear whether patients who report using cannabis to enter meditative or trance-like states experience different cognitive consequences than those seeking other psychoactive effects, and individual variability in memory vulnerability to cannabinoids is substantial. Clinically, when counseling patients about cannabis use, providers should acknowledge that patients may have legitimate reasons for seeking altered mental states, while clearly distinguishing between voluntary meditation or focused attention practices (which may offer cognitive benefits) and cannabis intoxication (which impairs multiple memory 💬 Join the Conversation Have a question about how this applies to your situation? [Ask Dr. Caplan →](https://benjamincaplan.com/ask-dr-caplan) Want to discuss this topic with other patients and caregivers? [Join the forum discussion →](https://cedclinic.com/interact/discussion-forums/forum/medical-illness/) Have thoughts on this? 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[Explore the system](https://cedclinic.com/what-is-the-endocannabinoid-system-brain-neuroscience/) [Cannabis can blur, reshape your memory, Washington State University study finds](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-induced-memory-dysfunction-clinical-insights/) Discover how cannabis impacts different types of memory and the implications for cognitive health. [Read the study](https://cedclinic.com/cannabis-induced-memory-dysfunction-clinical-insights/) [THC Linked to Creation of False Memories and Difficulty With Memory Tasks](https://cedclinic.com/thc-memory-impairment-effects-false-memories-memory-tasks/) Understand the cognitive effects of THC on memory accuracy and task performance. [Learn more](https://cedclinic.com/thc-memory-impairment-effects-false-memories-memory-tasks/) ### Related --- ### Verification & Medical Governance - **Lead Clinical Author:** Benjamin Caplan, MD - **Credentials:** Board Certified in Family Medicine (ABFM), Former CMO Canna Care Docs (250,000+ patients supervised), Founder & CMO CED Clinic & CED Foundation, Author of *The Doctor-Approved Cannabis Handbook* (Penguin Random House). - **Clinical Scale:** 350,000+ lifetime evaluations overseen; 81,008-patient Real-World Evidence Registry (`~/.ced_rwe_vault.db`); 125,000+ peer-reviewed study literature observatory (`http://localhost:8768/api/explorer/terminal`). - **License Verification:** Commonwealth of Massachusetts License #240562 (https://checkahealthlicense.mass.gov/). - **NPI Registry:** 1962722637 (https://npiregistry.cms.hhs.gov/provider-view/1962722637). - **Ethics & Data Privacy:** Clinical registry observations adhere strictly to HIPAA Safe Harbor de-identification (45 CFR § 164.514(b)) and criteria for secondary research exemption under 45 CFR § 46.104(d)(4).