Altered State of Consciousness

Question 1

What is a natural state?

Answer 1

These states are our normal level of functioning that can have either specific causes (like sleep) but others don’t (like hypnosis and meditation)

Question 2

What are altered states usually associated with?

Answer 2

Altered states are linked to subjective experiences in which the person does not feel “like themselves”

Question 3

What is an artificial state?

Answer 3

A state in which one can pinpoint the cause of the behaviour (like medication or alcohol)

Question 4

What things do we need to qualify an altered state (exam question)?

Answer 4

• In order for an altered state to be qualified as such, we need to show SPECIFIC, physiological and neurological changes
• Must be TEMPORARY and REVERSIBLE (otherwise it will become the natural state)

Question 5

Is sleep an altered state?

Answer 5

Yes

Question 6

What happens if we don’t find any physiological changes in a person?

Answer 6

The altered state is then used to describe a subjective experience (therefore it has no explanatory value and becomes a circular argument)

Question 7

What is a hypnagogic state (exam question)?

Answer 7

This describes the feeling of falling while drifting into sleep (hypnopompic = when you are waking up)

Question 8

What is a near-death experience (exam question)?

Answer 8

A subjective experience one feels as they are close to dying
- is associated with mysterious feelings of peace, a light at the end of the tunnel, seeing religious figures and loved ones, etc

Question 9

What are the five classifications of altered states?

Answer 9

1. spontaneously induced
2. physically/physiologically induced
3. psychologically induced
4. disease induced
5. pharmacologically induced

Question 10

What are the sub-categories of spontaneously induced altered states (exam question)?

Answer 10

a. drowsiness
b. daydreaming
c. hypnagogic and hypnopompic states
d. sleep, dreaming and lucid dreaming
e. near-death experiences (cerebral anoxia)
- decrease in activity of connections in the brain

Question 11

How can states be altered physically and/or physiologically?

Answer 11

1. due to extreme environmental conditions
2. starvation and extreme diets (changes the way you see the world)
3. sexual activity and orgasm (due to a partial loss of consciousness)
4. respiratory mancuvers (too much or not enough carbon monoxide)

Question 12

How can states be altered psychologically? Are these really altered states?

Answer 12

1. due to sensory deprivation
2. due to a rhythm induced trance
3. due to relaxation and meditation
4. due to hypnosis
5. bio and neuro feedback
   - none of these are altered states

Question 13

How are states altered due to disease?

Answer 13

1. psychotic disorders (uncouplings of thalamic-cortical systems give rise to diverse anomalous experiences)
2. coma and vegetative states
3. epilepsy

Question 14

Is epilepsy an altered state?

Answer 14

Yes

Question 15

What are the qualifications for an altered state (exam question)?

Answer 15

1. activation - being alert, awake and responsive
2. awareness span - variability of the contents
3. self-awareness - variability of self awareness
4. sensory dynamics - variety of changes in the sensory and perceptual subjective experience

Question 16

Why are the qualifications of an altered state useful (exam question)?

Answer 16

Because these qualifications can be scored

Question 17

What is primary phenomenal consciousness (exam question)?

Answer 17

Subjective experiences per se; the mere presence of having subjective experiences

Question 18

What is reflective consciousness (exam question)?

Answer 18

Selects an input for further conscious processing (ex. naming, categorizing, judging, choice of action)

Question 19

What is Charles-Bonnet syndrome?

Answer 19

Hallucinations without the altered sense of self

Question 20

What is the first definition of an altered state of consciousness?

Answer 20

Altered state of consciousness as a state in primary phenomenal consciousness

Question 21

What is the second definition of an altered state of consciousness?

Answer 21

ASC as a state in primary phenomenal experience + reflective consciousness
- it is a change that you reflect upon

Question 22

What is the third definition of an altered state of consciousness?

Answer 22

ASC as a state in primary phenomenal experience + reflective consciousness + corresponding altered pattern of neural activity

Question 23

What are the weaknesses of these three definitions?

Answer 23

• Definition #1 - how much change? what about anomalous experiences?
• Definition #2 - failure to correctly recognize they are in an altered state (false positive or negative)
• Definition #3 - not useful unless the nature of the alteration is specified
  
  • any neurological change should be sufficient to describe a change from baseline

Question 24

What is the better explanation (according to the authors of the article) as to what an altered state is (exam question)?

Answer 24

Altered states of consciousness are a representational or relational notion

• consciousness is defined by the patterns of experience related to the surrounding context
• a normal state is when you are correctly processing the world
• altered state is a misrepresentation of information (alterations in the mechanisms of conscious representations)