Depression as a Disorder of Consciousness
The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science August 16, 2021 DOI: 10.1086/716838 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | Download Consciousness Epistemology Library science World wide web |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key points | Proposes that depression involves a departure from ordinary wakeful consciousness into a global state akin to dreaming and the psychedelic state. |
Abstract
First-person reports of Major Depressive Disorder reveal that when an individual becomes depressed a profound change or ‘shift’ to one’s conscious experience occurs. The depressed person reports that something fundamental to their experience has been disturbed or shifted; a change associated with the common but elusive claim that when depressed one finds oneself in a ‘different world’ detached from reality and other people. Existing attempts to utilise these phenomenological observations in a psychiatric context are challenged by the fact that this experiential ‘shift’ characteristic of depression appears mysterious and resists analysis in scientific terms. This paper offers a way out of this predicament. The hypothesis proposed is that when an individual becomes depressed, the individual departs from a state of ordinary wakeful consciousness and enters a distinctive global state of consciousness akin to dreaming and the psychedelic state. After unpacking and motivating this hypothesis in the context of research in consciousness science, I outline two of its important implications for the neurobiology of depression and psychedelic psychiatry. The upshot is a promising and conceptually well-motivated hypothesis about depression which is apt for empirical uptake and development.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psilocybin-assisted therapy of major depressive disorder using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a therapeutic frame | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Yale Manual for Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy of Depression (using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Therapeutic Frame) | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroinflammation and neuroprogression in depression: Effects of alternative drug treatments | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Improving cognitive functioning in major depressive disorder with psychedelics: A dimensional approach | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Degrees of consciousness Noûs August 4, 2022
- Psychedelics and disorders of consciousness: the current landscape and the path forward. Neuroscience of Consciousness June 15, 2024
- From Altered States to Metaphysics: The Epistemic Status of Psychedelic-induced Metaphysical Beliefs Review of Philosophy and Psychology October 10, 2023
- Mental Gravity: Depression as Spacetime Curvature of the Self, Mind, and Brain Entropy August 30, 2023
- The psychedelic experience: a new perspective, a new attitude towards the world Philosophical Perspectives on Psychedelic Psychiatry September 13, 2024
and 5 more in the library
Cites 35
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State Science September 7, 2006
- Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry May 17, 2016
- A Theoretically Based Index of Consciousness Independent of Sensory Processing and Behavior Science Translational Medicine August 14, 2013
and 30 more in the library