Physician biophysicist, neuroscientist, and inventor, Dr. John C. Lilly, M.D., specialized in the study of consciousness and worked in various fields of science, including biophysics, neurophysiology, electronics, and neuroanatomy. His research includes studies on solitude, isolation and confinement and dolphin-human relationships.

In the mid 1950s he worked on Cortical Integration as part of the National Institute of Mental Health. In 1954 he invented the isolation tank and experimented with sensory deprivation. In 1959, Lilly founded the Communications Research Institute at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and served as its director until 1968. There he worked with dolphins exploring dolphin intelligence and human-dolphin communication. It was during this period that he was introduced to LSD and other psychoactives. He began using LSD and ketamine in combination with the tanks as a method of consciousness and metaprogramming exploration.

Two movies have been inspired by Lilly's life: Day of the Dolphin (1973), in which the military attempts to use dolphins as a weapon, and Altered States (1980), in which scientists explore reality through the combination of isolation tanks and psychoactive chemicals.

Lilly's books include, The Quiet Center, Programming the Human BioComputer, The Steersman, Tanks for the Memories , John Lilly, So Far, The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography, Communication Between Man and Dolphin: The Possibilities of Talking With Other Species, The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation and the Tank Isolation Technique, The Dyadic Cyclone: The Autobiography of a Couple, Lilly on Dolphins, The Center of the Cyclone: An Autobiography of Inner Space, Programming and Metaprogramming the Human Biocomputer, The Mind of the Dolphin, The Dolphin in History, Man and Dolphin, and Simulations of God: The Science of Belief.