1 Altered States of Consciousness: The Secrets of A Transformed Mind Jason Barber Wake Technical Community College PSY 150: General Psychology Professor Donald Thompson April 16, 2022 2 Altered States of Consciousness: The Secrets of A Transformed Mind Between 7.8 billion people (U.S. and World Population Clock 2022), There are an unsurprisingly low number of possessions held by every soul. However, one of the most important possessions owned by every human is consciousness. When utilized correctly, the right state of consciousness can transform the world. That potential can only be realized once one acknowledges the myriad facets consciousness can take on. There are several states of the mind, with different attributes and weaknesses, that are known to man but without proper research, the chances of successfully or safely exploring the concept are all but dashed. Not only that, but outdated research may also lead one astray as much as not researching at all. So, what is one to do when tasked to combat the twin scourges of Misinformation and Ignorance? It may seem avoidable at first, but the acquisition of recent, relevant research is the only true road to understanding a mere fragment of altered consciousness, let alone more. This review aims to summarize the recent discourse on Altered States of Consciousness. First, I will define the Altered States of Consciousness. Then, I will cover findings on the different Altered States of Consciousness under the influence of LSD, Ketamine, Trauma, and Distress. Finally, I provide closing remarks on the research of the topic and speak shortly on the future of the Consciousness research. Definition of Altered States of Consciousness Consciousness has its difficulties being researched as ASCs seem to be experiences or sensations more than measurable instances, one of the struggles of researching or learning about parts of social science. Because of this, there were several setbacks in finding a base definition. For this paper, “temporally extended and qualitatively distinct modes or states of consciousness” 3 [2] provides a clear definition to work from. “Temporally extended” refers to the fleeting nature of all Altered States of Consciousness, none of them are known to last forever, while “Qualitatively distinct” illustrates the various characteristics based on how consciousness was initially altered. In short, An Altered State of Consciousness is a temporary, exclusive experience within one’s mind. LSD and Brain Activity When discussing a topic of altered consciousness, it appears almost as if drugs cannot stay out of the topic. This is due to psychoactivity, or a property that alters brain activity such as thoughts, feelings, and even basic functions. Psychoactive substances can alter consciousness, and while there are several psychoactive substances, there’s a special class of them called Psychedelics, known to cause hallucination, uncontrollable changes to perception, and a plethora of effects. A psychedelic called lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD, has recently been paired with the topic of ASC for its relation to brain connectivity and a possible future in medicine for the drug. Katrin H. Preller and her team started a study on LSD and its ability to break down information sent through the brain [3]. 25 participants were given LSD to measure and observe brain activity. They found that the drug alters senses of perception and motor skills and that LSD was able to increase and decrease connectivity to the thalamus, responsible for sensorimotor signals and consciousness. Usually, this is something that would require the brain to activate serotonin receptors to complete, but LSD was able to stimulate the thalamus on its own. The potential applications for this study make it far too important to ignore. LSD has effects still being discovered by humans, the ability to manipulate the connection to certain parts of the brain knocks on the door of medical use for psychedelics in the neurobiological field. Outside of 4 neurobiology, psychedelics also display exciting potential to be utilized in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. This is one of many avenues occupied by catalysts of ASCs. Ketamine and Brain Activation While there are many mysteries surrounding consciousness, scientists have recently made a discovery on which brain regions may be associated with the concept. Cortical regions, located in the cerebral cortex, have been linked in a study seeking to see just how much the brain region is linked to consciousness and how the brain activates under an altered state of consciousness when administering two different levels of ketamine anesthesia on six rats [4]. At first, the consciousness of the rats dropped only slightly when administering the first level, with impairment in somatosensory regions, the parts of the brain that controls sensations such as touch, pleasure, pain, etc., and motor regions. However, when using the second level, scientists found more notable drops in consciousness along with stimulation in the posteromedial cortex in all six rats. This means that consciousness was successfully linked to the back of the cortical region. It is important to note that the scientists who conducted the study state that this was not conclusive data and that more confirmation may be needed to fully validate and illustrate the cortical region’s responsibility for consciousness. To do so, the scientists conducting the study pointed to endeavors in “controlled, direct inactivation of individual cortical regions” with conscious subjects next. As for what this means outside of the study, it is a leap in understanding consciousness. Scientists who need to reduce or study altered consciousness now are aware of the cortical region’s possible involvement as well. In short, ASCs are being utilized in neurophysiological settings as well. Altering consciousness may be the key to understanding consciousness itself. 5 Trauma in ASCs When discussing a topic like this, one of the most valuable questions asked is “How can one enter an altered state of consciousness?” It has been found that trauma can alter consciousness as well. Trauma-Related Altered states of consciousness (TRASC) and Normal Waking Consciousness distress (NWC) are subtypes of the same concept that both deal with distress. The difference between the two is that NWC is less dissociative and closer to experiences in reality whereas TRASC has heavier dissociations that go as far as out-of-body experiences. In short, NWC features negative effects, but they are effects that are generally less intense than TRASC. To classify and treat symptoms of both TRASC and NWC, a fourdimensional model was made (Frewen and Lanius 2015), consisting of “One’s experience of (a) time and memory, (b) thought, (c) one’s body, and (d) emotion.” In addition to this, Frewen and Lanius made four separate hypotheses. The first hypothesis stated that NWC would be more common than TRASC. The second hypothesis stated that in comparison to an NWC counterpart, TRASC symptoms wouldn’t be as connected when consulting the 4-D model. The third hypothesis stated that TRASC would appear more in people with histories of dissociating. The final hypothesis stated that TRASC would be more noticeable in repeat trauma victims, especially if said trauma occurred in childhood. Upon testing, all but the last hypotheses were correct, solidifying the 4-D model as a solid theoretical system, but a system still requiring insight and refinement. As researchers peer into the topic of trauma, the 4-D model will likely continue to be used as a framework in the future. 6 Conclusion The research done on ASCs is ever-expanding. Technology is slowly moving into the necessary territories to understand consciousness and how to use that understanding for society’s benefit. Altering the consciousness with LSD may keep patients out of needless pain. It may also allow for the sensorimotor research to expand as well. Just as LSD has the potential to become a boon to humanity, Ketamine has the same benefit. Ketamine is already being used in medical fields, and the new application of Ketamine for manipulating the cortical region opens doors for new research on several fronts in the study of the mind. Trauma and Distress have already led scientists to a more theoretical realm of consciousness, the 4-D model has the promise to progress the treatment of traumatized individuals. However, the expansions of this content also come with a lack of knowledge on all topics mentioned. LSD has unobserved effects on the mind, research on posteromedial cortex activation is still underway, and the 4-D model still needs revision before it can be acknowledged any further. In short, Altering the consciousness is a science that is young, but has a potential that, if nurtured, could change the way the mind is viewed permanently. 7 References Cofré, R., Herzog, R., Mediano, P., Piccinini, J., Rosas, F. E., Sanz Perl, Y., & Tagliazucchi, E. (2020). Whole-Brain Models to Explore Altered States of Consciousness from the Bottom Up. Brain sciences, 10(9), 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10090626 Cavanna, F., Vilas, M. G., Palmucci, M., & Tagliazucchi, E. (2017). Dynamic functional connectivity and brain metastability during altered states of consciousness. NeuroImage, 180, 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.09.065 Preller, K. 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