Mind, brain and altered states of consciousness
M. Roccella, M. Salerno, L. Parisi, A. Maltese, G. Tripi, Raffaele Sperandeo, G. Cibelli, S. Chieffi, Marcellino Monda, Giovanni Messina, M. Ruberto, M. Maldonato, G. Marsala, S. Dell'Orco, A. Messina, Vincenzo Monda, Fiorenzo Moscatelli, A. Valenzano, I. Villano, F. Sessa, Palmira Romano, Daniela Iennaco, Null Rosamarotta, Francesco Cerroni, S. Monica
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | Proposes that consciousness is not a simple function of the mind but its organization, sustained by multiple horizontal levels rather than a strict hierarchy, with quantitative and qualitative aspects based on distinct neural substrates. |
Abstract
The consciousness is the expression of an enormous and complex variety of neurobiological events, phenomenological and psychological that, from the early stages of development, prepare the emergence soil of the Self. It is a complex of tangible and intangible characters distinct from one another - neural infrastructure, awareness, temporality, qualitative subjectivity, intentionality - to such an extent as to seem welded faces of the same prism. Consciousness is not a simple function of the mind, but its organization. In this paper we intend to show how its order is not strictly hierarchical, but sustained by multiple horizontal levels, each of which in a structural and functional continuum with several emerging phenomena. The same distinction between quantitative aspects (surveillance) and qualitative (content of consciousness) of consciousness is founded on the premise that the supervision is regulated by widespread in projection systems of the brain stem, hypothalamus and thalamus; while the content of consciousness depends on the cortical activity, and particularly from the associative areas of the cortex connected between them. The so-called disturbances of consciousness (vegetative state, the minimally conscious state, a coma, the Locked in syndrome) suggests the existence of an alteration of a common underlying system. Although the current heterogeneity of the data makes it impossible to attribute with certainty whether positive or negative about the alleged absence of consciousness in the individual patient, the search is deriving significant benefits from the accumulation of neuroimaging evidence in paintings like coma, general anesthesia , sleep, epilepsy and somnambulism. In this sense, it seems increasingly urgent a deeper understanding of the neural correlates during sleep or general anesthesia, as well as the relationships between neural processes and altered states of consciousness generated by pharmacological manipulations.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 4
- Brain functional integration: an epidemiologic study on stress-producing dissociative phenomena. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment December 19, 2017
- Acute administration of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) induces oxidative stress, lipoperoxidation and TNFα-mediated apoptosis in rat liver. Pharmacological Research August 12, 2011
- Why do seizures cause loss of consciousness? The Neuroscientist October 2003
- A framework for consciousness Nature Neuroscience February 1, 2003