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According to Fischer, the reaching of the processor/cortex' operating
limits causes the blockage of the computer/brain and originates a state
of consciousness similar to catatonia (once again a term derived from
pathology is used, thus generating further confusion, while, according
to Fischer, the involuntary movements which can be induced in hypnotic
trance perfectly correspond to the state in which the brain has fallen).
Entry in the catatonic state is associated with the loss of sensorial
contacts with external reality: the brain segregates itself, becomes
deaf, dumb, insensitive to touch and loses taste and smell. This is
the condition of ecstasy, a state in which the speed of the processor
goes back to normal, the operating program is that of wakefulness, but
the data being processed are completely hallucinatory because they no
longer come from the outside but originate directly from the inside
of the central nervous system itself.
Fischer
built this model in an experimental manner, by studying the psychophysiological
and neuropsychological effects of psychoactive substances, as well as
data derived from experimental literature and ethnologic and anthropologic
traditions (particularly with respect to ecstasy).
Consequently,
even if he made mistakes in terminology or was wrong in the conceptual
interpretation of the phenomenology he observed, the objective data
still remain and are repeatable as are all respectable experimental
results. The concept of activation of the central processor, for instance,
depicts an increase of the ergotrophic activity which, in turn, becomes
a progressive activation of the orthosympathetic system. This hyperactivation
is objectively recognizable in the corporeal periphery in terms of heart
rate, muscle tone, arterial pressure, glycemia, perspiration etc.
The states described so far constitute an unavoidable progression, a
continuum. Consequently one cannot pass into the next state without
first experiencing the previous one. This sequence of states of central
stimulation has been called "continuum of progressive ergotrophic activation"
and gives a neurobiological explanation of a number of practices developed
for millenniums by the various peoples in the world in order to modify
their state of consciousness. Besides using psychotropic stimulant substances
(for instance psilocybin), journeys towards excitement and ecstasy are
provoked by tribal dances, overloading the brain/computer with intense
auditory and cenesthetic stimulations, by the dervish dances in a circle,
which overload the labyrinths, by the practices of the Bacchantes with
wine, drums and disorderly dances, etc.
As a matter of fact, according to Fischer, Catholic mystic ecstasy is
a state reached by means of stimulating techniques (probably through
intense emotional activation) and should be considered as the final
stage of the ergotrophic continuum. As opposed to this sequence of states
of excitement, there is a continuum constituted by a series of states
of consciousness caused by a progressive decrease in the sensorial input
and in the processing speed of the elaborator/cortex. This is the "continuum
of trophotropic activation", that is of progressive orthosympathetic
activation. The states constituting it are those of deep relaxation,
of meditation, of pre-sleep, of higher meditation and, finally, of "samadhi",
that is Yoga ecstasy.
The
steps of this progression have also been built experimentally by means
of psychoactive substances (precisely lorazepam) but, fortunately, in
describing the conditions of consciousness in each step, Fischer did
not make use of psychiatric terminology, although it is easy to understand
that the step of this progression corresponding to anxiety in the other
continuum is depression. Also the sequence of states which can be reached
by the progressive extinction of the sensorial contacts with the environment
or the voluntary or involuntary decrease of the processing speed of
the computer/cortex gives a neurobiological explanation for various
other practices developed by mankind throughout the centuries to modify
states of consciousness in order to reach ecstasy: these are the Yoga
techniques and those of eastern cultures in general.
Surprisingly,
missing from the list of the states of progressive sedation, is the
condition of hypnotic trance which, in our culture, is considered a
state of relaxation and is exploited, partially, exactly for this reason.
In fact also (or above all) the practices of intense concentration or
of progressive self-sedation easily lead to Janet's type of dissociation,
as it is convincingly demonstrated by studies on sleep, that is on the
hypnagogic state: every evening, when we are about to fall asleep, without
realising, we all repeat the same actions performed by meditators or
by a hypnotist while inducing a state of trance. We deviate our attention
from the outside reality to the mental (impoverishing or abolishing
the input from the senses) and we concentrate it on imagination or thoughts
with such intensity as to completely lose contact with reality.
The hypnagogic state (which is one of the possible modified states of
consciousness) only lasts a few minutes and, although we all find it
very pleasant, it is not incisively recorded in the list of our interior
experiences. In fact, if we artificially prolong it, a rather odd phenomenology
takes place, in that we easily experience hallucinations and we are
under the impression that our mind has somehow split into two. That
is the time when the right hemisphere gives way to its twin and, although
we are still unable to explain why hallucinations should take place,
this phenomenology, in a fascinating way, recalls hypnotic trance and,
once again, Janet's dissociation condition. In conclusion, it appears
clear that the psychophysiologic operations we carry out in order to
fall asleep, which are similar to those a hypnotist prompts us to do
when inducing hypnotic trance, and also similar to those performed by
a meditator, produce functional dissociation between the two cerebral
hemispheres which can lead to sleep, prolongation of trance or ecstasy.
The Fischer model is structured on neurophysiological, psychophysiological
and psychopharmacological data and it therefore is a neurobiological
model, very useful for studying the behaviour of the consciousness hardware,
but not as enlightening as to the events taking place from a neuropsychological
and psychological point of view. An attempt to fill this theoretical
void was the second model of consciousness and of the states of consciousness
referred to above.
This
is Charles Tart's "systemic model", according to which consciousness
should be viewed as a system of functions, each of which contributes
to the configuration of structural sets which are its various modified
states. In other words, each state resembles a cocktail in which the
various "higher nervous functions" are represented in variable proportions:
when this mixture steadily persists for psychologically relevant periods
of time (and therefore long enough for a recognisable subjective experience
to take place), we may call this a "distinct state of consciousness".
Some of the most important basic components of these mixtures (which
once used to be called "higher nervous functions") are: esteroception,
enteroception, processing of incoming sensorial data (input), memory,
the subconscious (by which Tart actually means the Freudian unconscious),
emotions, the faculty to make assessments and decisions, the sense of
time, the sense of identity and motor output, and so on. In dream, for
instance, esteroception is almost entirely abolished and the sensorial
input processing function also goes down to very low levels, whereas
memory becomes a very important ingredient in terms of quantity. The
decision powers are blocked, and the sense of time is distorted. In
conclusion, according to Tart, with the employment of quantitative scales
to "measure" the importance of each ingredient, it is possible to represent
each state of consciousness on a system of Cartesian coordinates, and
no longer compile a single map but a whole atlas of the states of consciousness.
In
those days (thirty years ago) this concept had a number of followers,
even though its practical applications have been very limited and very
few researchers have attempted to experimentally produce the various
maps of the atlas. It has been useful for the description of the phenomenology
of consciousness and to focalise certain nodal points of such phenomenology;
however it may now be regarded as superseded. Many researchers have
found it more productive to investigate the mental activity characterising
the various states of consciousness as a computer operating system,
that is by employing the information theory; this may possibly have
involved the loss of the systemic perspective but on the other hand
has enabled them to pursue paths which have led to the modification
of various dogmas so far unassailable.
For instance, the demonstration that the brain continues to process
data during all the stages of sleep has reopened the whole question
of the function of sleep, stressing that it is also important to establish
"why" it should continue to process data, as well as "how" it does it.
Others, in an attempt to understand the machine language which acts
as interface between hardware and software, have started an in-depth
investigation of memory and have reached the point of stating that consciousness
is the result of learning, thus reinvigorating a debate involving both
neuroscience and philosophy as to how much of our mind's structure is
learnt and how much is innate. In conclusion, as mentioned earlier,
today scientific research proceeds so fast and diffusely, that specialists
find it quite difficult to keep their colleagues' activity under control
and often are not concerned with the implications that a certain observation
may have in other fields of knowledge. As regards Tart's systemic model,
even though the system concept has not proved very productive, full
validity must be acknowledged with respect to the parts of the model
which analyse and attempt to explain how the changes in states of consciousness
take place. According to Tart, each state of consciousness/system is
stabilised by a "functional adhesive" which prevents any change in the
relationship among its components.
This adhesive is attention/awareness and it is through manipulation
or self-manipulation of this function that changes in state of consciousness
are produced. Generally, attention can be: 1) entirely projected into
the outside environment; 2) entirely concentrated on the inside environment;
3) fluctuating between inside and outside. In the state of wakefulness,
attention is continuously directed on the environment, but if we start
to interiorise it and concentrate it on mental contents, we set off
for the radical change called sleep.
As mentioned above, self-control of attention is also the foundation
of meditation practices which, as eastern cultures claim, represent
the main path to getting to know the structure of our mind/consciousness
and how it works. As mentioned, a hypnotist also induces trance by controlling
the attention of the subject he wishes to hypnotise: he deliberately
and progressively diverts the subject's attention towards the inside
environment and gets it to focus on sensations and somatic or mental
perceptions until the outside environment is no longer perceived. In
this way, the hypnotist applies "dissociating forces" to the original
structure of the system/consciousness, and once he has dissociated it,
that is he has produced a new system/consciousness (the state of trance),
he applies "stabilising" forces which make the new system long-lasting.
The meditator carries out the same process on his own, without having
to resort to anybody else's help. And we all follow the same process
to go to sleep, with the only difference that, contrary to what happens
with hypnosis or meditation, at a certain point we lose control over
the situation, having triggered a series of automatic mechanisms which
make us fall asleep. Meditators may also lose control over the situation
and enter an ecstatic state, but, at this stage, we do not yet know
why. Fischer's and Tart's state of consciousness models where, in many
respects, complementary.
Time
has demonstrated their incompleteness and, in some respects, also their
superficiality. However, we should not forget that these are physiological
models, which proves there has been a significant change in the manner
consciousness and its states are viewed, compared to the Salpetrière
clinicians: before we look for physiopathological explanations, it is
wise to investigate normal consciousness in depth, and today we are
prepared to do so. In neurophysiology, psychiatry, psychology and neuropsychology
manuals it has become proper to include or add a chapter covering states
of consciousness, but each of these subjects can only describe these
phenomenologies in part: sleep and dream, the modifications of consciousness
induced by psychoactive substances, the bipolarity of the conscious
and the unconscious, the functional attributes of the cerebral hemispheres,
and so on. A culture laboriously distilled and carefully sieved through
experimental liturgy, which proceeds slowly. There will probably be
great progress when we start to harmonise western scientific knowledge
and eastern psychological understanding.
According to the eastern cultures which, by tradition, have always devoted
much more energy than the western culture to self-study, there is only
one model of the structure of consciousness: the one which says that
reality is an illusion and a product of the mind. Countless writings
attempt to explain this strong statement and, to this end, meticulously
analyse the structure of thought and how the mind works. Even though
this knowledge was codified centuries ago, here in the west it has so
far remained unused, since it is expressed in a metaphoric language
or as an unreliable account of subjective experiences. So far, we have
only had minor appropriations or loans: Carl Gustav Jung became very
fond of "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" which relates NDE's (Near Death
Experiences), that is a phenomenology which western science has only
acknowledged a few decades ago and which, in any case, it considers
illusory.
Dream Yoga, a technique which teaches how to "lucid dream", is about
two thousand years old, whereas the possibility of dreaming with the
awareness of dreaming has only recently been accepted, thanks to Stephen
La Berge's stubbornness. Regarding the possibility of lucid dreaming,
Tibetans have constructed a model of consciousness and a theory of dream
which are a masterpiece of simplicity, even though still unacceptable
for our experimental science. However, this is a path to take in the
future and we now await a brave genius who, in the same way as Sigmund
Freud, may be able to construct a theory of consciousness capable of
satisfying both the eastern and the western cultures.
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