The multi-dimensional approach to drug-induced states: A commentary on Bayne and Carter’s “dimensions of consciousness and the psychedelic state”

Fortier-Davy, Martin; Millière, Raphaël

doi:10.1093/nc/niaa004

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While some popular accounts endorse the notion of the psychedelic state as an “expanded” (as opposed to diminished) state of consciousness, in reality psychedelics severely impair some aspects of human cognition and perception, while sparing or even facilitating others ( Carter et al, 2005 ; Bouso et al, 2013 ; Bayne and Carter, 2018 ; Pokorny et al, 2020 ; Healy, 2021 ). Taking these considerations into account, several independent dimensions are likely to be required to fully characterize the repertoire of conscious states, yet disagreements exist about what these dimensions should be ( Bayne et al, 2016 ; Bayne and Carter, 2018 ; Fortier-Davy and Millière, 2020 ).…”

Section: Analysis Of Retrospective Reportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language as a Window Into the Altered State of Consciousness Elicited by Psychedelic Drugs

Tagliazucchi

2022

Front. Pharmacol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Psychedelics are drugs capable of eliciting profound alterations in the subjective experience of the users, sometimes with long-lasting consequences. Because of this, psychedelic research tends to focus on human subjects, given their capacity to construct detailed narratives about the contents of their consciousness experiences. In spite of its relevance, the interaction between serotonergic psychedelics and language production is comparatively understudied in the recent literature. This review is focused on two aspects of this interaction: how the acute effects of psychedelic drugs impact on speech organization regardless of its semantic content, and how to characterize the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs by analyzing the semantic content of written retrospective reports. We show that the computational characterization of language production is capable of partially predicting the therapeutic outcome of individual experiences, relate the effects elicited by psychedelics with those associated with other altered states of consciousness, draw comparisons between the psychedelic state and the symptomatology of certain psychiatric disorders, and investigate the neurochemical profile and mechanism of action of different psychedelic drugs. We conclude that researchers studying psychedelics can considerably expand the range of their potential scientific conclusions by analyzing brief interviews obtained before, during and after the acute effects. Finally, we list a series of questions and open problems that should be addressed to further consolidate this approach.

show abstract

Section: Analysis Of Retrospective Reportsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language as a Window Into the Altered State of Consciousness Elicited by Psychedelic Drugs

Tagliazucchi

2022

Front. Pharmacol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The debate over ego dissolution and SAP is the most prominent, but not the only, discussion of psychedelic evidence in the philosophy of mind. The popular claim that the psychedelic state constitutes a "higher" state of consciousness has been scrutinised critically in light of recent work on levels and dimensions of consciousness (Bayne & Carter, 2018;Fortier-Davy & Millière, 2020). Other authors have discussed whether psychedelic evidence might favour certain metaphysical positions on the classical mind-body problem (Jones, 2019;Kastrup, 2016).…”

Section: Other Issues In Philosophy Of Mindmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philosophy and classic psychedelics: A review of some emerging themes

Letheby

Mattu

2022

JPS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Serotonergic (or “classic”) psychedelics have struck many researchers as raising significant philosophical questions that, until recently, were largely unexplored by academic philosophers. This paper provides an overview of four emerging lines of research at the intersection of academic philosophy and psychedelic science that have gained considerable traction in the last decade: selfless consciousness, psychedelic epistemology, psychedelic ethics, and spiritual/religious naturalism. In this paper, we highlight philosophical questions concerning (i) psychedelics, self-consciousness, and phenomenal consciousness, (ii) the epistemic profile of the psychedelic experience; (iii) ethical concerns about the appropriate use of psychedelics; and (iv) whether spiritual or religious dimensions of psychedelic use are compatible with a naturalistic worldview.

show abstract

“…2020a ). Although psychedelic experiences can vary qualitatively based on dosage and drug type ( Fortier-Davy and Millière 2020 ), conscious experience under psychoactive doses of lysergic acid diethylamide and psilocybin is significantly altered compared to normal wake and is commonly reported to involve increased sensory (especially visual) vividness, increased richness of experience and of autobiographical memory, hyper-associative thinking and changes in sense of self and meaning attribution ( Bayne and Carter 2018 ; Girn et al. 2020 ).…”

Section: Resting-state Neural Complexity and Dimensions Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Psychedelics also seem to impair many functional and cognitive dimensions of consciousness ( Bayne and Carter 2018 ), although not all dimensions ( Fortier-Davy and Raphaël 2020 ). Although declarative and working memory seem to remain unimpaired ( Silverstein and Klee 1958 ), psychedelics lead to impairments on tasks involving mental manipulation or attentional control and are commonly reported to reduce capacity for concentration ( Jackson et al.…”

Section: Resting-state Neural Complexity and Dimensions Of Consciousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon: implications for the assessment of disorders of consciousness

Walter

2021

Neuroscience of Consciousness

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Disorders of consciousness (DoCs) pose a significant clinical and ethical challenge because they allow for complex forms of conscious experience in patients where intentional behaviour and communication are highly limited or non-existent. There is a pressing need for brain-based assessments that can precisely and accurately characterize the conscious state of individual DoC patients. There has been an ongoing research effort to develop neural measures of consciousness. However, these measures are challenging to validate not only due to our lack of ground truth about consciousness in many DoC patients but also because there is an open ontological question about consciousness. There is a growing, well-supported view that consciousness is a multidimensional phenomenon that cannot be fully described in terms of the theoretical construct of hierarchical, easily ordered conscious levels. The multidimensional view of consciousness challenges the utility of levels-based neural measures in the context of DoC assessment. To examine how these measures may map onto consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon, this article will investigate a range of studies where they have been applied in states other than DoC and where more is known about conscious experience. This comparative evidence suggests that measures of conscious level are more sensitive to some dimensions of consciousness than others and cannot be assumed to provide a straightforward hierarchical characterization of conscious states. Elevated levels of brain complexity, for example, are associated with conscious states characterized by a high degree of sensory richness and minimal attentional constraints, but are suboptimal for goal-directed behaviour and external responsiveness. Overall, this comparative analysis indicates that there are currently limitations to the use of these measures as tools to evaluate consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon and that the relationship between these neural signatures and phenomenology requires closer scrutiny.

show abstract

The multi-dimensional approach to drug-induced states: A commentary on Bayne and Carter’s “dimensions of consciousness and the psychedelic state”

Cited by 19 publications

References 18 publications

Language as a Window Into the Altered State of Consciousness Elicited by Psychedelic Drugs

Language as a Window Into the Altered State of Consciousness Elicited by Psychedelic Drugs

Philosophy and classic psychedelics: A review of some emerging themes

Consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon: implications for the assessment of disorders of consciousness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About