Altered states of consciousness: review of experimental data obtained with a multiple techniques approach.
Pavel V Bundzen, Konstantin Korotkov, Lars-Erick Unestahl
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine April 2002 DOI: 10.1089/107555302317371442 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort (with control group) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 117 |
| Population | Young volunteers in Sweden and Russia, with and without systematic mental training |
| Intervention | Systematic mental training |
| Duration | 7 weeks of mental training |
| Measures | digital electroencephalography, low-frequency bilateral brain activity, gas discharge visualization (GDV), self-reporting, linguistic testing, profiling of mood states |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key findings | All participants in systematic mental training showed significant positive changes in psychoemotional status after 7 weeks, with stable and reproducible 'explosive activation' in Kirlian (GDV) patterns correlated with an ASC; control group showed practically no changes. |
Abstract
To investigate the psychophysiologic mechanisms of an altered state of consciousness (ASC) produced via systematic mental training by correlating the results of multiple computerized bioelectrographic measurements. All subjects were tested, using a set of modern computerized techniques comprising digital electroencephalography, measurement of the low-frequency bilateral activity of the brain, evoked bioelectrographic signals measured by computerized Kirlian photography (otherwise called gas discharge visualization [GDV]), self-reporting by subjects, linguistic testing, and profiling of mood states. Sweden and Russia from 1996 to 1999. Young volunteers (61) who underwent systematic mental training for not less than 7 weeks. Members of the control group (56) were not engaged in mental training. All participants involved in the systematic mental training showed significant positive changes in their psychoemotional status after 7 weeks of mental training. All of the techniques showed specific changes that might be associated with an ASC in the subjects. The Kirlian (GDV) patterns showed a form of "explosive activation," which was stable, reproducible, and correlated with an ASC. This led the authors to introduce the concept of short-term activation of the induced bioelectrographic processes and enabled the properties of this ACS to be determined for the first time. There were practically no changes in the control group. ASC activation took place with harmonization of the biopotential field of the brain, the psychic state, and the bioenergy fields. This is attributed to changes in both the psychosomatic and psychoenergetic autoregulation. This conclusion is of vital importance for understanding what happens in systematic mental training and understanding the fundamentals of bioenergetic and psychosomatic medicine.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neural correlates of the DMT experience assessed with multivariate EEG. 6 female, 7 male human participants | 2019 | Observational cohort | n = 13 |
| Measures of entropy and complexity in altered states of consciousness Subjects during resting wakefulness, different sleep stages, and epileptic seizures | 2017 | Observational study | |
| Altered States of Consciousness and Short-Term Psychological After-Effects Induced by the First Time Ritual Use of Ayahuasca in an Urban Context in Brazil First-time ayahuasca users in Santo Daime and União do Vegetal rituals | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 28 |
| Quantifying arousal and awareness in altered states of consciousness using interpretable deep learning Healthy individuals during sleep, individuals under general anesthesia, and patients... | 2022 | Observational cohort | n = 71 |
| Subanaesthetic ketamine and altered states of consciousness in humans Human volunteers | 2018 | Observational study | n = 15 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Alert, Eyes-Open Sport Hypnosis American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis September 4, 2018
- The Quantum Hologram Theory of Consciousness as a Framework for Altered States of Consciousness Research NeuroQuantology March 26, 2022
- Psychoneuroimmunologic effects of Ayurvedic oil-dripping treatment. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine December 2008