Breaking down consciousness: hints for a conceptual clarification of the notion of “altered states” from psychedelics studies. (original) (raw)

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Dimensions of consciousness and the psychedelic state

Neuroscience of Consciousness

It has often been suggested in the popular and academic literature that the psychedelic state qualifies as a higher state of consciousness relative to the state of normal waking awareness. This article subjects this proposal to critical scrutiny, focusing on the question of what it would mean for a state of consciousness to be 'higher'. We begin by considering the contrast between conscious contents and conscious global states. We then review the changes in conscious global state associated with psychedelic drug use, focusing on the effects of two serotonergic hallucinogens: psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide. Limiting our review to findings obtained from lab-based experiments and reported in peer-reviewed journals, we prioritize the more common and reliably induced effects obtained through subjective questionnaires and psychophysical measures. The findings are grouped into three broad categories (sensory perception, cognitive function, and experiences of unity) and demonstrate that although certain aspects of consciousness are improved or enhanced in the psychedelic state, many of the functional capacities that are associated with consciousness are seriously compromised. Psychedelic-induced states of consciousness are indeed remarkable in many ways, but it is inappropriate to regard them as 'higher' states of consciousness. The fact that psychedelics affect different aspects of consciousness in fundamentally different ways provides evidence against the unidimensional (or 'level-based') view of consciousness, and instead provides strong support for a multidimensional conception of conscious states. The final section of the article considers the implications of this analysis for two prominent theories of consciousness: the Global Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory.

Altered States of Consciousness

The philosophical investigation of consciousness has a long-standing history in the Western world but it presents a scientific problem that no explanation or theory is yet to answer. The only absolute is the existence of consciousness itself. William James’ 'anaesthetic revelations’ advanced the understanding of altered states of consciousness (ASC) that may have influenced Timothy Leary and the use of the psychedelic drug LSD 100 years later, but Western science still has little knowledge of the function in the phenomenon of meditation, sleep, hypnosis and daydreaming, and generally ignores concepts of enlightenment, preferring scientific rationalism. The objectivity of science and subjectivity of consciousness are still very much at odds, yet through convergent disciplines of neurophenomenology and divergent proposals of state-specific sciences, new investigative approaches are able to start to define and distinguish between various levels of anatomical, functional and phenomenological aspects of many ASC.

Restructuring consciousness –the psychedelic state in light of integrated information theory

The psychological state elicited by the classic psychedelics drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, is one of the most fascinating and yet least understood states of consciousness. However, with the advent of modern functional neuroimaging techniques, the effect of these drugs on neural activity is now being revealed, although many of the varied phenomenological features of the psychedelic state remain challenging to explain. Integrated information theory (IIT) is one of the foremost contemporary theories of consciousness, providing a mathematical formalization of both the quantity and quality of conscious experience. This theory can be applied to all known states of consciousness, including the psychedelic state. Using the results of functional neuroimaging data on the psychedelic state, the effects of psychedelic drugs on both the level and structure of consciousness can be explained in terms of the conceptual framework of IIT. This new IIT-based model of the psychedelic state provides an explanation for many of its phenomenological features, including unconstrained cognition, alterations in the structure and meaning of concepts and a sense of expanded awareness. This model also suggests that whilst cognitive flexibility, creativity, and imagination are enhanced during the psychedelic state, this occurs at the expense of cause-effect information, as well as degrading the brain's ability to organize, categorize, and differentiate the constituents of conscious experience. Furthermore, the model generates specific predictions that can be tested using a combination of functional imaging techniques, as has been applied to the study of levels of consciousness during anesthesia and following brain injury.

Restructuring consciousness –the psychedelic state in light of integrated information theory

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2015

The psychological state elicited by the classic psychedelics drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, is one of the most fascinating and yet least understood states of consciousness. However, with the advent of modern functional neuroimaging techniques, the effect of these drugs on neural activity is now being revealed, although many of the varied phenomenological features of the psychedelic state remain challenging to explain. Integrated information theory (IIT) is one of the foremost contemporary theories of consciousness, providing a mathematical formalization of both the quantity and quality of conscious experience. This theory can be applied to all known states of consciousness, including the psychedelic state. Using the results of functional neuroimaging data on the psychedelic state, the effects of psychedelic drugs on both the level and structure of consciousness can be explained in terms of the conceptual framework of IIT. This new IIT-based model of the psychedelic state provides an explanation for many of its phenomenological features, including unconstrained cognition, alterations in the structure and meaning of concepts and a sense of expanded awareness. This model also suggests that whilst cognitive flexibility, creativity, and imagination are enhanced during the psychedelic state, this occurs at the expense of cause-effect information, as well as degrading the brain's ability to organize, categorize, and differentiate the constituents of conscious experience. Furthermore, the model generates specific predictions that can be tested using a combination of functional imaging techniques, as has been applied to the study of levels of consciousness during anesthesia and following brain injury.

Phenomenology and Altered States of Consciousness: A New Framework for Analysis

In this paper, we compare two main paradigms of the examination of altered states of consciousness, and we propose a new horizon of interpretation. On the one hand, we review the complicated matters of psychedelics in the context of psychology (and especially in that of transpersonal psychology); on the other hand we use some of the basic concepts of the phenomenological tradition – focusing on Merleau-Ponty’s and Husserl’s phenomenology – to differentiate between the features of perception, hallucination, and vision. We propose the idea that the actual research regarding the phenomenon of psychointegration can be extended with the heuristic values of basic phenomenological concepts (e.g. intentionality, lived body, imagination). In conclusion, our main purpose is to show that the phenomenology of the lived body can be a powerful explanatory tool to describe and specify irrational and chaotic experiences induced by psychoactive substances. The experiential material of the paper is based on Benny Shanon’s phenomenological accounts.

Psychedelics and Consciousness: Distinctions, Demarcations, and Opportunities

International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2021

Psychedelic substances produce unusual and compelling changes in conscious experience that have prompted some to propose that psychedelics may provide unique insights explaining the nature of consciousness. At present, psychedelics, like other current scientific tools and methods, seem unlikely to provide information relevant to the so-called "hard problem of consciousness," which involves explaining how first-person experience can emerge. However, psychedelics bear on multiple "easy problems of consciousness," which involve relations between subjectivity, brain function, and behavior. In this review, we discuss common meanings of the term "consciousness" when used with regard to psychedelics and consider some models of the effects of psychedelics on the brain that have also been associated with explanatory claims about consciousness. We conclude by calling for epistemic humility regarding the potential for psychedelic research to aid in explaining the hard problem of consciousness while pointing to ways in which psychedelics may advance the study of many specific aspects of consciousness.

On the Varieties of Conscious Experiences: Altered Beliefs Under Psychedelics (ALBUS)

PsyArXiv (preprint), 2020

How is it that psychedelics so profoundly impact brain and mind? According to the highly influential model of "Relaxed Beliefs Under Psychedelics" (REBUS) (Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019), wherein 5-HT2a agonism is thought to help relax prior expectations, so making room for new perspectives and patterns. This model is contextualized within the Free Energy Principle and Active Inference framework, as well as the associated neuronal processes theory of hierarchical predictive processing. More specifically, excessive excitation of deep pyramidal neurons is thought to cause paradoxical desynchronization, so "flattening" (Bayesian) "belief landscapes" by attenuating large-scale complexes of synchronous neural activity, particularly at alpha frequencies. Here, we introduce an alternative (but largely compatible) perspective, in that while such effects may be both real and important, these alterations may primarily correspond to a rare (but potentially pivotal) regime of very high levels of serotonin 2a receptor (5-HT2aR) agonism. We suggest an opposite effect may occur along much of the dose-response curve of 5-HT2aR stimulation, in which synchronous neural activity becomes more powerful, with accompanying "Strengthened Beliefs Under Psychedelics" (SEBUS) effects. We believe that REBUS effects are indeed crucially important aspects of psychedelic experiences, but suggest these exist alongside SEBUS effects in various combinations. As such, we propose a larger integrative perspective for understanding "Altered Beliefs Under Psychedelics” (ALBUS). The ALBUS framework provides a rich account of cognition based on predictive processing, which we believe provides a means of fruitfully integrating across theories of psychedelic action ranging from REBUS, to “thalamic gating” (Preller et al., 2019), to the newly suggested “cortico-striatal thalamo-cortical” model (Doss et al., 2021). Towards this end we demonstrate the utility of ALBUS by providing neurophenomenological models of psychedelics focusing on mechanisms of conscious perceptual synthesis, as well as hippocampally-orchestrated episodic memory and mental simulation. We further discuss cognitive diversity (including psychopathology) through the lens of these models. We consider the potential significances of modifications of the default mode network and alpha rhythms for creativity and various states of consciousness, including with respect to fundamental alterations in sense of self through ego dissolution. Finally, we survey a broad range of psychedelic phenomena and consider potential explanations, implications, and directions for future work.