A report on Consciousness

Representation of consciousness from the seventeenth century by Robert Fludd, an English Paracelsian physician
John Locke, British Enlightenment philosopher from the 17th century
Illustration of dualism by René Descartes. Inputs are passed by the sensory organs to the pineal gland and from there to the immaterial spirit.
Thomas Nagel argues that while a human might be able to imagine what it is like to be a bat by taking "the bat's point of view", it would still be impossible "to know what it is like for a bat to be a bat." (Townsend's big-eared bat pictured).
John Searle in December 2005
The Necker cube, an ambiguous image
A Buddhist monk meditating
Neon color spreading effect. The apparent bluish tinge of the white areas inside the circle is an illusion.
Square version of the neon spread illusion

Sentience or awareness of internal and external existence.

- Consciousness
Representation of consciousness from the seventeenth century by Robert Fludd, an English Paracelsian physician

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Persistent vegetative state

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Disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness.

Disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness.

There are two dimensions of recovery from a persistent vegetative state: recovery of consciousness and recovery of function.

Binding problem

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Problem of how objects, background and abstract or emotional features are combined into a single experience.

Problem of how objects, background and abstract or emotional features are combined into a single experience.

Revonsuo equates this to "consciousness-related binding", emphasizing the entailment of a phenomenal aspect.

William Lycan

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American philosopher and professor emeritus at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was formerly the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor.

American philosopher and professor emeritus at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was formerly the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor.

Lycan is an unapologetic realist and physicalist about almost everything – mental states (intentionality and consciousness), epistemic justification, linguistic meaning, perception (especially color and smell), moral properties, aesthetic properties, and more.

American psychologist and counterculture figure Timothy Leary conducted early experiments into the effects of psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin. (1989 photo)

Psilocybin

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Naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi.

Naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi.

American psychologist and counterculture figure Timothy Leary conducted early experiments into the effects of psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin. (1989 photo)
The ability of psilocybin to cause perceptual distortions is linked to its influence on the activity of the prefrontal cortex.
In their studies on the psilocybin experience, Johns Hopkins researchers use peaceful music and a comfortable room to help ensure a comfortable setting, and experienced guides to monitor and reassure the volunteers.
Chart of dependence potential and effective dose/lethal dose ratio of several psychoactive drugs
The neurotransmitter serotonin is structurally similar to psilocybin.
Psilocybin is converted in the liver to the pharmacologically active psilocin, which is then either glucuronated to be excreted in the urine or further converted to various psilocin metabolites.
Biosynthetic route previously thought to lead to psilocybin. It has recently been shown that 4-hydroxylation and O-phosphorylation immediately follow decarboxylation, and neither DMT nor psilocin are intermediates, although spontaneously generated psilocin can be converted back to psilocybin.
Global distribution of over 100 psychoactive species of genus Psilocybe mushrooms.
Mayan "mushroom stones" of Guatemala
Albert Hofmann (shown here in 1993) purified psilocybin and psilocin from Psilocybe mexicana in the late 1950s.
The increasing availability of information on growing techniques made it possible for amateurs to grow psilocybin mushrooms (Psilocybe cubensis pictured) without access to laboratory equipment.
Dried Psilocybe mushrooms showing the characteristic blue bruising on the stems

Psychedelic drugs can induce states of consciousness that have lasting personal meaning and spiritual significance in individuals who are religious or spiritually inclined; these states are called mystical experiences.

Karl Pribram in Kepler Museum, Prague, 2010.

Karl H. Pribram

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Professor at Georgetown University, in the United States, an emeritus professor of psychology and psychiatry at Stanford University and distinguished professor at Radford University.

Professor at Georgetown University, in the United States, an emeritus professor of psychology and psychiatry at Stanford University and distinguished professor at Radford University.

Karl Pribram in Kepler Museum, Prague, 2010.

To the general public, Pribram is best known for his development of the holonomic brain model of cognitive function and his contribution to ongoing neurological research into memory, emotion, motivation and consciousness.

Giulio Tononi

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Neuroscientist and psychiatrist who holds the David P. White Chair in Sleep Medicine, as well as a Distinguished Chair in Consciousness Science, at the University of Wisconsin.

Neuroscientist and psychiatrist who holds the David P. White Chair in Sleep Medicine, as well as a Distinguished Chair in Consciousness Science, at the University of Wisconsin.

Tononi is a leader in the field of consciousness studies,

Anesthesia

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State of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical purposes.

State of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical purposes.

The anesthetic area of an operating room
A vaporizer holds a liquid anesthetic and converts it to gas for inhalation (in this case sevoflurane)
Syringes prepared with medications that are expected to be used during an operation under general anesthesia maintained by sevoflurane gas: – Propofol, a hypnotic – Ephedrine, in case of hypotension – Fentanyl, for analgesia – Atracurium, for neuromuscular blockade – Glycopyrronium bromide (here under trade name "Robinul"), reducing secretions
An anesthetic machine with integrated systems for monitoring of several vital parameters.
A patient-controlled analgesia infusion pump, configured for epidural administration of fentanyl and bupivacainefor postoperative analgesia
Anesthesia-related deaths by ASA status
Hua Tuo
Sir Humphry Davy's Researches chemical and philosophical: chiefly concerning nitrous oxide (1800), pp. 556 and 557 (right), outlining potential anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide in relieving pain during surgery.
Contemporary re-enactment of Morton's 16 October 1846, ether operation; daguerrotype by Southworth & Hawes
Morton's ether inhaler

hypnosis (a temporary loss of consciousness and with it a loss of memory. In a pharmacological context, the word hypnosis usually has this technical meaning, in contrast to its more familiar lay or psychological meaning of an altered state of consciousness not necessarily caused by drugs—see hypnosis).

The title page

Cosmic Consciousness

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The title page
The title page

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is a 1901 book by the psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke, in which the author explores the concept of cosmic consciousness, which he defines as "a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man".

Theory of mind

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In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind).

In psychology, theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them (that is, surmising what is happening in their mind).

This is a contentious issue because of the difficulty of inferring from animal behavior the existence of thinking or of particular thoughts, or the existence of a concept of self or self-awareness, consciousness, and qualia.

Charles Tart

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American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness (particularly altered states of consciousness), as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in parapsychology.

American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness (particularly altered states of consciousness), as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in parapsychology.

Tart likened normal waking consciousness to hypnotic trance.