A stream of conscious experience is extremely contextual; it is impacted by sensory stimuli, drives and emotions, and the web of associations that link, directly or indirectly, the subject of experience to other elements of the individual's worldview. The contextuality of one's conscious experience both enhances and constrains the contextuality of one's behavior. Since we cannot know first-hand...
The relationship between mind and matter, mental states and physical states, has occupied the attention of philosophers for thousands of years. Richard Fumerton's primary concern is the knowledge argument for dualism - an argument that proceeds from the idea that we can know truths about our existence and our mental states without knowing any truths about the physical world. This view has come...
Background and Purpose The cardiovascular effects produced by 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ; ‘ E cstasy’) contribute to its acute toxicity, but the potential role of its metabolites in these cardiovascular effects is not known. Here we examined the effects of MDMA metabolites on cardiovascular function in rats. Experimental Approach Radiotelemetry was employed to evaluate the...
Buddhism teaches that ‘self’ as a substantial, enduring entity is an illusion. But for self to be an illusion there must be something in our experience that is misinterpreted as self. What is this? The notion of an experiential self plays an important role in phenomenological investigations of conscious experience. Does the illusion of self consist in mistaking a purely experiential self for a...
Vertebrates evolved in the Cambrian Period before 520 million years ago, but we do not know when or how consciousness arose in the history of the vertebrate brain. Here we propose multiple levels of isomorphic or somatotopic neural representations as an objective marker for sensory consciousness. All extant vertebrates have these, so we deduce that consciousness extends back to the group's...
Recibido: 3 de octubre del 2012 / Aprobado: 27 de junio del 2013 Se estudiaron las experiencias anómalas del momento en que las personas se están quedando dormidas, como el estado hipnagógico (HG) o de cuando se despiertan del sueño, como el estado hipnopómpico (HP).Se aplicó una encuesta a 436 participantes de ambos sexos, 51 % mujeres y 49 % varones, de edades entre 17 y 80 años (M =...
The aim of the article is twofold. First, it aims to overview current empirical methods in the area of first-person research. Such a review cannot overlook epistemological and ontological issues, but must at the same time keep in mind methodological and almost technical nature of the problem. Empirical experience research is positioned within the frame of cognitive science and the overview of...
In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the scientific study of perceptual awareness, or synonymously, the contents of consciousness. By many standards, the field of consciousness research is in a phase of unprecedented productivity and progress, with high-impact publications, popular science books, specialized journals, dedicated academic societies, scientific conferences, and,...
Summary: We have investigated the ability of the 5HT2‐receptor antagonist ketanserin to affect the hyperthermia produced by methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in conscious mice and examined whether α1‐adrenoceptor antagonist actions are involved. Mice were implanted with intra‐abdominal temperature probes under anaesthesia and allowed 2 weeks recovery. MDMA (20 mg kg−1) was administered...
This article presents and discusses the epistemological and methodological challenges related to the empirical study of first-person experience in mental health research. Considering the field of qualitative research, the methodological principles of phenomenology and medical anthropology are examined from a historical and conceptual perspective. The main operational concepts of the...