STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

1
STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Andrzej Kokoszka

2
Conceptual Approach to Consciousness

• The presented approach refers to Jaspers's (1963)
  view which suggests that the term "consciousness"
  implies
• 1. Awareness of experience.
• 2. Awareness of an object.
• 3. Self-reflection.

3
Conceptual Approach to Consciousness

• For the reason that the notion of consciousness
  is often reduced to only one or two of these
  dimensions, it is possible to integrate different
  views and data on consciousness describing it in
  components. Therefore, in this context, Jasper's
  threefold definition is divided still further
  with consciousness being differentiated from mind
  and psyche.
• There are very few studies on the relationship
  between mind and consciousness. These concepts
  are often used interchangeably. However, it is
  possible to create a comprehensive rationale for
  the study of consciousness, accepting the
  terminological order presented below.

4
Psyche

• Psyche is the widest notion denoting mental life
  as the activity of the central nervous system.
  Though the psyche seems to be an indivisible
  whole, scientific thinking (according to
  contemporary paradigm) is analytical, so
  traditional divisions into psychomotoric
  (behavioral, executive), cognitive
  (intellectual), and emotional spheres still seem
  to be useful.

5
Mind

• Mind denotes this part or domain of the psyche,
  i.e., mental life, which may be conscious. Mind
  means mental activity which is non-conscious,
  according to the description of consciousness
  presented below.

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Consciousness

• Consciousness is understood as an elementary
  experience, so it is impossible to refer it to
  something more fundamental. We can describe it
  only in a tautological way as an experience ("a
  feeling", an "intuition") accompanying psychic
  phenomena (Bilikiewicz, 1979).

7
Consciousness

• This was named sensorium in traditional
  psychiatry (Bilikiewicz, 1979). Hamilton,
  (according to Lalande, 1983) in his first Lecture
  on Metaphysics explained that "consciousness
  cannot be defined we may be ourselves fully
  aware what consciousness is, but we cannot
  without confusion convey to others a definition
  of what we ourselves clearly apprehend. The
  reason is plain consciousness lies at the root
  of all knowledge".

8
Consciousness

• The accepted understanding of consciousness
  corresponds with phenomena described by Jaspers
  as "awareness of experience and as such is
  distinct from loss of consciousness and from what
  is extra-conscious" (Jaspers, 1963, p. 9). More,
  concisely, consciousness can be defined as an
  "intuition" of one's own state of mind
  experiencing. Or as a subjective awareness of
  some aspects of ongoing mental (psychical)
  processes.

9
Consciousness

• Consciousness as an elementary phenomenon may be
  illustrated by states of derealization and
  depersonalization. This means change in the
  experiencing of reality and of one's identity,
  respectively.
• During these states consciousness, "an intuition"
  of experiencing psychic phenomena that accompany
  them or "awareness of experiencing", is more
  clear than usual, i.e., one "feels", or is
  conscious of changes in feeling reality, before
  one starts a rational recognition of this state.
  In everyday life this intuition is so natural
  that it is not distinguished from other processes
  of psychic life.

10
Awareness

• Awareness means the behavioral, observable
  aspect of consciousness, i.e., responding to
  surroundings. Observing another human being I can
  recognize that one is aware (i.e., probably
  conscious), but the experience of being
  conscious, I experience directly, without need of
  recognition of my own psychic state (i.e.,
  without self-consciousness, as defined below), or
  Jaspers's self-reflection.

11
Awareness

• Behaviorism sometimes considers just awareness
  when applying the notion of consciousness, which
  is defined as, e.g., "the state of being
  responsive, or the state of brain's activity at
  such a time" (Hebb, 1966, p. 286).

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SELF CONSCIOUSNESS

• The act of self-consciousness, understood as an
  observation of one's own state of consciousness
  i.e., introspection (Podsiad, Wieckowski,
  1983), is a cognitive phenomenon, characterized
  by division of ego into the observer and the part
  of the observed, which is mediated by other
  cognitive processes.

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SELF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Self-consciousness in the narrow meaning denotes
  self-reflected contents e.g. reflective
  self-consciousness according to Zaborowski
  (1987).

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CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS ALTERED STATES

• A state of consciousness is a delineated
• state of mind, i.e., by both its content and
• its form - way of experiencing.

15
ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• Altered states of consciousness were defined
  as "any mental state(s) of consciousness, induced
  by various physiological, psychological, or
  pharmacological maneuvers or agents, which may be
  recognized subjectively by the individual himself
  (or by an objective observer of the individual)
  as representing a sufficient deviation in
  subjective experience or psychological
  functioning from certain general norms for that
  individual during alert waking consciousness.
  (Ludwig, 1966, p. 225).

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ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• This sufficient deviation may be represented
  by greater preoccupation than usual with internal
  sensations or mental processes, changed in formal
  characteristics of thought, and impairment of
  reality testing to various degree" (Ludwig, 1966,
  p. 225).

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ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• The following variables play a major role in the
  production of these ASC.
• 1. Reduction of exteroceptive stimulation and/or
  motor activity, e.g., isolation, solitary
  confinement (in the sea, in the air, on the
  desert), sleep and related phenomena,
  experimental sensory deprivation states, etc.
• 2. Increase of exteroceptive stimulation and/or
  motor activity and/or emotion, e.g.,
  brainwashing, shamanistic and prophetic trance
  states during tribal ceremonies, etc.
• 3. Increased alertness or mental involvement,
  e.g., in reading, writing, problem solving,
  prolonged watching of a metronome or stroboscope.
• .

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ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• 4. Decreased alertness or relaxation of critical
  faculties - passive states of mind", e.g.,
  mystical, transcendental or revelatory states,
  aesthetic or self-hypnotic experiences,
  daydreaming, free associative states during
  psychoanalytic therapy, etc.
• 5. Presence of somatopsychological factors, e.g.,
  hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, hyperventilation,
  sleep deprivation, intoxication, traumatic brain
  changes, pharmacological agents, etc.

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ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• Characteristics of the states
• 1. Alterations in thinking.
• 2. Disturbed time sense,
• 3. Loss of control.
• 4. Change in emotional expression.
• 5. Body image change.

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ALTERED STATES CONSCIOUSNESS

• Ccharacteristics of the states
• 6. Perceptual distortions.
• 7. Change in meaning or significance.
• 8. Sense of ineffable.
• 9. Feelings of rejuvenation.
• 10. Hypersuggestibility..

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SELF CONSCIOUSNESS AND ITS ALTERED STATES

• Currently, the notion of altered states of
  consciousness ASC(s) is used in psychology in
  rather general terms. It denotes states in which
  the content, the form or the quality of
  experiences is significantly different from
  ordinary states of consciousness, and it depicts
  states which are not symptoms of any mental
  disorders (Kokoszka, 2000a, p. 122). However,
  due to the lack of a commonly accepted view on
  ordinary states of consciousness, this definition
  remains imprecise.

22
Altered states of consciousness

• The first investigations of this kind were
  conducted by the Society for Psychical Research
  of London in 1894 (Sidgwick, Johnson, Myers, and
  others). In a questionnaire survey of 17,000
  subjects, 9.8 percent admitted having experienced
  at least one hallucination episode.
• In the replication of this research, 14.3 percent
  out of 1519 subjects experienced hallucinations
  (West, 1948). McKellar (1968) discovered the
  appearance of hallucinations in 125 out of 500
  subjects.
• Mott, Small and Anderson (1965) while
  interviewing 50 healthy people found auditory
  hallucination in 32 percent of them.

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Altered states of consciousness

• Posey and Losch (1983-84) presented data
  indicating the occurrence of auditory
  hallucination of the voice type among 71 percent
  of 375 normal college students.
• The most frequent
• was hearing one's thoughts as spoken aloud - 39
  percent
• hearing a voice call one's name aloud when alone
  - 36 percent

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Altered states of consciousness

• In Bentall and Slade's (1985) investigations
  conducted among students,
• 15.4 percent had an experience of hearing a human
  voice and then found out that nobody was present,
  
• 17.6 percent often heard a voice saying loudly
  what they thought.

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• In a random sample of 100 English students, 65
  percent recounted that they once had the
  experience of "being aware or influenced by a
  presence or a power, whether you call it God or
  not, which is different from your everyday self".
  
• In 23 percent of cases it was an awareness of the
  power controlling and guiding the person,
• in 22 percent an awareness of God's presence.

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Altered states of consciousness

• The experiences occurred most often in the
  situation of
• being alone or in silence - 35 percent,
• severe distress or decision making - 34 percent,
  
• close contact with nature - 26 percent,
• being with close or trusted person - 21 percent
  (Hay, 1979).

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Altered states of consciousness

• In the investigations of a representative
  population, in a sample of 1865 persons in Great
  Britain, Hay and Morisy (1978) found that
• 34.6 percent of subjects answered the quoted
  question positively,
• the percentage was higher among women, older
  people, better educated, those from higher social
  classes, and persons in a good frame of mind.

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Table 3.11 Percentages of subjects who reported
experiences of altered states of consciousness
(at least once).
29
Table 3.11 Percentages of subjects who reported
experiences of altered states of consciousness
(at least once).
30
Table 3.11 Percentages of subjects who reported
experiences of altered states of consciousness
(at least once).
31
THE MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS

• Diurnal, rhythmical changes between state of
  waking and sleep are obvious and well documented
  alterations in the state of consciousness. There
  is also a convicting, well know body of empirical
  evidence that there are some changes in state of
  consciousness, that occur cyclically during
  sleep, that are classified as REM (rapid eye
  movement) sleep and Non-REM Sleep.

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THE MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS

• The first one manifests with story-like dreams,
  whereas the second with rather static experiences
  usually recognized as a dreamless sleep. However,
  there are some data indicating that the same
  biological rhythm Basic Rest-Activity Cycle
  (BRAC) is active also during the wakefulness.

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THE BASIC REST-ACTIVITY CYCLE

• The Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC) hypothesis
  is that the fundamental idea for the creation of
  the model was formulated by Kleitman (1963,
  1982). He suggests the existence of a rhythm that
  causes not only cyclical, approximately 90-minute
  changes in imagination activity during sleep
  (reflected in the commonly known stages of
  sleep), but also analogous phenomena during
  wakefulness.

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THE BASIC REST-ACTIVITY CYCLE

• Kleitman (1982) cites about 50 articles
  supporting his hypothesis including some
  experimental data supporting it. An approximate
  90-minute oscillation was found in
• a) activity of the imagination during
  wakefulness - Kripke and Sonnenschein (1978)
  showed the existence of cyclical (72-120 min)
  activity of the imagination both in the
  laboratory and in more natural settings,
• b) intensity of visual illusions (Lavie et al,
  1975),
• c) accuracy of motor coordination (Gopher,
  Lavie, 1980),
• d) time of behavioral reactions (Orr et al,
  1974),

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THE BASIC REST-ACTIVITY CYCLE

• e) quality of task performance (Sterman, 1985),
• f) cognitive styles (Klein, Armitage, 1979)
• g) different records of EEG (Kripke
  Sonnenschein, 1978 Geretz Lavie, 1983 Manseau
  Broughton, 1984 Okawa, Matousek, Petersen,
  1984).

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CONCEPTION OF PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS OF THE BRAC
AND METABOLISM OF INFORMATION

• It seems obvious that in Western Culture natural
  rhythmicity, if it exists, is suppressed during
  wakefulness and that spontaneous states of highly
  vivid imagination are regarded as unusual and
  abnormal. They thus give rise to fear and
  hesitancy, which interrupt those states.

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CONCEPTION OF PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS OF THE BRAC
AND METABOLISM OF INFORMATION

• If we accept the hypothesis that ultradian
  rhythmicity of imagination is a biological
  reality, human culture should accommodate it in
  some way.
• Natural everyday observations show the occurrence
  of situations in which people experience states
  of consciousness with spontaneous vivid
  imagination and a passive state of mind, not only
  without fear of anxiety, but with a feeling of
  rest.

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CONCEPTION OF PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS OF THE BRAC
AND METABOLISM OF INFORMATION

• Only irrational altered states of consciousness
  cause fear, whereas rationally explained states
  may be experienced with pleasure and restfulness.

39
Natural Protective Mechanisms of the Metabolism
of Information

• These mechanisms are characterized, according to
  the model, by reduction of goal-oriented
  activity of imagination. This results in a lack
  of any activity of imagination or in the
  reorganization of cognitive processes into a
  culturally acceptable form.

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In case of a shortage of information, the
activity of imagination grows. The most
spectacular supporting data come from experiments
of sensory deprivation.

• 1. "Thoughtlessness" phenomena. This is a
  specific kind of staring, characterized by
  cognitive absence, which according to the model
  presented, may be considered as the intermediate
  state between the Ordinary Waking States of
  Consciousness (OWSC) and Differentiated Waking
  States of Consciousness (DWSC), that is a daily
  analog of REM sleep, that lasts for a relatively
  short time, and for cultural reasons is stopped
  when spontaneous imagination activity increases.
  We may suppose that the rest phase of BRAC
  reveals itself during this phenomenon and that it
  promotes some degree of rest.

41
In case of a shortage of information, the
activity of imagination grows. The most
spectacular supporting data come from experiments
of sensory deprivation.

• 2. "Physiological manifestations". Rossi (1986)
  postulates that the rest phase of BRAC has its
  own manifestation in different physiological
  reaction-like changes of respiratory shift,
  yawning, hiccup, burn or sounds from the
  gastrointestinal tract, etc., and in addition
  during some forms of behavior, such as crossing
  one's arms or legs, leaning the head or body to
  one side, wiggling the neck, legs, eyeblinking,
  etc.

42

• In the case of an excess of perceived stimuli,
  the control center becomes disorganized and the
  perception is finally disturbed, which leads to a
  phenomena analogous to that caused by lack of
  information. This can be observed mainly in
  states of overfatigue.

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Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• A. Application of exogenous agents like alcohol,
  drugs. That through physiological mechanisms
  leads to disorganization of information
  metabolism, goal oriented activities and to
  limitation of the inflow of stimuli from the
  external sources. Nicotine and caffeine on the
  other hand, facilitate occurrence of the
  "thoughtlessness phenomena", or moreover,
  passive, vivid states of imagination.

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Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• B. Relaxation practices like meditation,
  autogenic training, etc.
• They may be considered as a means of intentional
  limitation of information inflow.
• C. Application of endogenous agents by means of
  physical fatigue can lead to disorganization of
  information metabolism. The feeling of fatigue
  gives an explanation to non-logical experiences.

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Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• D. Purposeful overstimulation leads to
  disorganization of information metabolism and
  seems to be the most popular way to achieve
  "rationally explained" spontaneous vivid
  imagination states including reading a newspaper,
  listening to the radio, watching television, etc.
  while tired. Some other popular forms of rest may
  be considered in terms of these mechanisms such
  as sightseeing, aesthetic, and sexual
  experiences.

46
Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• E. "Take-a-break" periodicity some authors
  (Kleitman, 1969 Rossi, 1986) suggest that there
  is approximately a 90-minute periodicity in
  cultural customs of taking breaks for tea, lunch
  etc. that enables occurrence of rest phase of
  BRAC phenomena.

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Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• All the situations described above have in common
  sensations with spontaneous vivid imagination
  activity accompanied by a relatively passive
  attitude of mind and an inner consent to their
  irrationality and non-linear nature by the person
  experiencing them. The intensity and degree of
  extraordinariness of experiences in these
  situations are commonly recognized and culturally
  accepted.

48
Culturally Protective Mechanisms of the
Metabolism of Information

• All of them are experienced as form of a rest.
  The passive state of mind seems to be an
  essential psychological factor of the rest phase
  activity states. The protective mechanisms lead
  to the DWSC. However, we can speculate that the
  observed data represent a much more complicated
  psychophysiological phenomena which may mask
  obvious parameters of DWSC.

49
PROTECTIVE MECHANISM

• The concept of protective mechanisms has got some
  empirical confirmation recently (Duchniewska,
  Kokoszka, 2003). In order to verify it 30 persons
  (21 women and 9 men) aged between 19-52 (M
  29.1 SD 10.08) answered specially designed
  sets of questions three times a day (at noon, at
  5 p.m., and before sleep) over 2 consecutive
  days. All of the examined individuals reported
  the situations that occurred during a day and
  that were accompanied by an increase of
  spontaneous of imagination.

50
Frequency of protective mechanisms of information
metabolism occurrence
51
Frequency of protective mechanisms of information
metabolism occurrence

• Its frequency of the protective mechanisms
  occurrence varied from 6 to 13 times a day (on
  the first day M 9.0 SD 1.5 on the second
  day M 8 SD 1.65). The time span of the
  situations in which there was a spontaneous
  increase of activity of imagination wavered from
  5 minutes to 3 hours. A considerable majority of
  them lasted from 5 (68) to 10 minutes (19)

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• DWSC is a more general notion than the "fourth
  state of consciousness" (Wallace, Benson, Wilson,
  1971) or the "relaxation response" (Benson,
  1975) but those studies on meditation allow for
  a combination of DWSC with the trophotropic
  reaction (Hess, 1957). These changes seem not to
  be attributed to the practice of meditation, but
  simply to rest (Holmes, 1984).

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Meditation may be understood as a procedure
  that allows rest for contemporary people who are
  used to constant activity and who do not accept
  any form of natural passivity. This point of view
  is congruent with the concept of nature's own
  healing 20-minute period, named the "Ultradian
  Healing Response", being of the BRAC
  manifestation (Rossi, 1991).

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• In ideal conditions, the change from the state of
  waking into sleep could occur during the
  twenty-four-hour rhythm, whereas approximately
  90-minutes of the BRAC should produce fluctuation
  of the OWSC and DWSC during wakefulness and
  non-REM and REM sleep during a state of sleep.

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• The rest-activity operates more regularly during
  sleep than during the state of waking because the
  person has no control over the content and form
  of experiences during sleep and cannot change
  natural factors.

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• Actually, the process described above is
  extremely complicated. There are three main
  factors that have an influence on its complexity
• a) The environment, and the necessity to conform
  to its conditions in respect to physiological and
  psychological needs.

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• b) Self-consciousness - or, more precisely, the
  location of the control center in the area of
  self-consciousness which spans the range of the
  central nervous system autonomy and gains
  independence from physiological conditions.

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AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE MAIN EVERYDAY STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS

• c) Originally, a natural tendency for about 90
  minute cyclicity of the BRAC manifestations was
  postulated (Kokoszka, 1987-88), but even if the
  BRAC hypothesis is replaced by a multioscillatory
  hypothesis, where several rhythms are postulated
  - the model still seems to be useful. However,
  masking effects or possible interference of 90
  minute cycles with slower cycles (Lavie, 1989)
  should be taken into consideration.