BackgroundEmpirical knowledge suggests that altered states of consciousness are common in sub-Saharan Africa. However, to date prevalence studies are scarce.MethodsThe study was conducted at the Haydom Lutheran Hospital in northern Tanzania. Over a period of eight months all patients with altered states of consciousness were seen prospectively by a neurologist. The study population was...
In spite of the inherent difficulties in achieving a biologically meaningful definition of consciousness, recent neurophysiological studies are starting to provide some insight in fundamental mechanisms associated with impaired consciousness in neurological disorders. Generalised seizures are associated with disruption of the default state network, a functional network of discrete brain areas,...
The default mode network has been hypothesized based on the observation that specific regions of the brain are consistently activated during the resting state and deactivated during engagement with task. The primary nodes of this network, which typically include the precuneus/posterior cingulate, the medial frontal and lateral parietal cortices, are thought to be involved in introspective and...
Consciousness is a central concept in epileptology, relevant to the understanding of both focal and generalized seizures. Within focal seizures, impairment of consciousness has long been considered as the main criterion differentiating complex partial seizures (CPS) from simple partial seizures With the development of improved tools for investigating human brain function, new insights into the...
Vegetative and minimally conscious states diagnosis remained a major clinical challenge. New paradigms such as measurement of the global cerebral metabolism, the structural and functional integrity of fronto-parietal network, or the spontaneous activity in resting state have been shown to be helpful to disentangle vegetative from minimally conscious patients. Active neuroimagery paradigms also...
Much attention has been paid recently to the role of anomalous experiences in the aetiology of certain types of psychopathology, e.g. in the formation of delusions. We examine, instead, the top-down influence of pre-existing beliefs and affective factors in shaping an individual's characterisation of anomalous sensory experiences. Specifically we investigated the effects of paranormal beliefs...
Consciousness can be altered willfully. There are different methods to induce altered state of consciousness including psychological means. While some such induced states are pathological many others are not. Indian and other eastern concepts emphasize one can induce "higher states of consciousness" oneself. Physiological changes are observed in these altered states of consciousness that point...
The original scales of the OAV were shown to be multidimensional constructs. Eleven new lower order scales were constructed and demonstrated to have desirable psychometric properties. The new lower order scales are most likely better suited to assess drug induced ASC.
The Church Father Epiphanius' description of the Tascodrugite practice of placing the forefinger on the nostril during prayer call be plausibly interpreted as a strategy for inducing an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Anthropological and neurophysiological research on how this human gesture achieves such an effect which is a pan-human potential suggests a similar plausible interpretation...
Keyresearch related to consciousness is that which investigates the neural systems that are deactivated or attenuated during altered states of consciousness, as well as during unconsciousness. This paper addresses various states of altered consciousness such as anaesthesia, sleep, vegetative states, seizures, post-LSD hallucinations, the minimally conscious state, locked-in syndrome, comatose...