What is an altered state of consciousness?

Revonsuo, Antti; Kallio, Sakari; Sikka, Pilleriin

doi:10.1080/09515080902802850

Cited by 59 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The contents of consciousness are frequently investigated from a functional perspective, combining task-based paradigms from cognitive neuroscience with different neuroimaging methods to reveal the brain mechanisms associated with explicit or implicit reports of conscious awareness (1). The study of temporally extended conscious states is more elusive, with different authors agreeing more often on specific examples than on broad and clear definitions (2)(3)(4)(5). Some examples include the different stages of the human wake-sleep cycle (6), the acute effects of anesthesia (7), and post-comatose disorders of consciousness (8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perturbations in dynamical models of whole-brain activity dissociate between the level and stability of consciousness

Perl

Pallavicini

Ipiña

et al. 2020

Preprint

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AbstractConsciousness transiently fades away during deep sleep, more stably under anesthesia, and sometimes permanently due to brain injury. The development of an index to quantify the level of consciousness across these different states is regarded as a key problem both in basic and clinical neuroscience. We argue that this problem is ill-defined since such an index would not exhaust all the relevant information about a given state of consciousness. While the level of consciousness can be taken to describe the actual brain state, a complete characterization should also include its potential behavior against external perturbations. We developed and analyzed whole-brain computational models to show that the stability of conscious states provides information complementary to their similarity to conscious wakefulness. Our work leads to a novel methodological framework to sort out different brain states by their stability and reversibility, and illustrates its usefulness to dissociate between physiological (sleep), pathological (brain-injured patients), and pharmacologically-induced (anesthesia) loss of consciousness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perturbations in dynamical models of whole-brain activity dissociate between the level and stability of consciousness

Perl

Pallavicini

Ipiña

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Can the experience of an altered state of consciousness (ASC) like hallucination, delusion, or psychosis due to mental disorders be a kind of Self-ER? Revonsuo et al (2009) redefines ASC, as the state in which consciousness relates itself differently to the world, in a way that involves widespread misrepresentations of the world and/or the self. They suggest that, to be in an ASC is to deviate from the natural (world-consciousness) relation in such a way that the world and/or self tend to be misrepresented (as evident in reversible states like dreaming, psychotic episodes, psychedelic drug experiences, epileptic seizures, and hypnosis).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving Presence through Evoked Reality

Pillai¹,

Schmidt²,

Richir³

2013

Front. Psychol.

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The sense of “Presence” (evolving from “telepresence”) has always been associated with virtual reality research and is still an exceptionally mystifying constituent. Now the study of presence clearly spans over various disciplines associated with cognition. This paper attempts to put forth a concept that argues that it’s an experience of an “Evoked Reality (ER)” (illusion of reality) that triggers an “Evoked Presence (EP)” (sense of presence) in our minds. A Three Pole Reality Model is proposed to explain this phenomenon. The poles range from Dream Reality to Simulated Reality with Primary (Physical) Reality at the center. To demonstrate the relationship between ER and EP, a Reality-Presence Map is developed. We believe that this concept of ER and the proposed model may have significant applications in the study of presence, and in exploring the possibilities of not just virtual reality but also what we call “reality.”

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“…It is not just defined as a quantitative shift, in terms of more or less alert, more or less visual imagery, etc. [2]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An altered state of consciousness is thus, due to a change in the representational state of consciousness and is not restricted to any specific cognitive, affective of sensory modality, but is a combination of them, and it is a temporary phenomenon. [2]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical hypnosis and Patanjali yoga sutras

Chowdhary

Gopinath

2013

Indian J Psychiatry

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The trance states in yoga and hypnosis are associated with similar phenomena like relaxation, disinclination to talk, unreality, misrepresentation, alterations in perception, increased concentration, suspension of normal reality testing, and the temporary nature of the phenomena. While some researchers consider yoga to be a form of hypnosis, others note that there are many similarities between the trance in yoga and the hypnotic trance. The present study aimed to find similarities between the trance states of hypnosis and Patanjali's yoga sutras. The trance states were compared with the understanding of the phenomena of trance, and the therapeutic techniques and benefits of both. An understanding of the concept of trance in Patanjali's yoga sutras was gained through a thematic analysis of the book Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. This led to an understanding of the concept of trance in the yoga sutras. The obtained concepts were compared to the concepts of trance in hypnosis (obtained through the literature on hypnosis) to investigate whether or not there exist similarities. The findings of the study show that there are similarities between the trance in hypnosis and the trance in Patanjali's yoga sutras in the induction and deepening of the trance states in hypnosis and that of Samadhi, the phenomena present in hypnosis and the kinds of siddhis that are obtained through Samadhi, and the therapeutic techniques and the therapeutic process in Patanjali's yoga sutra and hypnosis.

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What is an altered state of consciousness?

Cited by 59 publications

References 20 publications

Perturbations in dynamical models of whole-brain activity dissociate between the level and stability of consciousness

Perturbations in dynamical models of whole-brain activity dissociate between the level and stability of consciousness

Achieving Presence through Evoked Reality

Clinical hypnosis and Patanjali yoga sutras

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