The Realm of Non-ordinary States of Consciousness: A Neurophenomenological Comparison of Laboratory-Induced States of Disconnected Consciousness

Goal

Humans can experience different states of disconnected consciousness (DC), that is being conscious while completely or partly unresponsive to the external environment. This can emerge in (a) unresponsive situations where we suppose a transient loss of consciousness, as testified by subjective reports upon awakening from near-death situations or sleep, as well as in (b) modified states of consciousness that can be (self-)induced such as meditation or trance. When comparing those different states, common characteristics can be found: expanded inner imagery, modified somatosensory processing, an altered sense of self, and a narrowed or inexistent awareness of external surroundings. Interestingly, most of those states are associated with an experience of spiritual travel. So far these DC states have been primarily investigated in distinct scientific fields. Using a multidisciplinary neurophenomenological framework, we propose to cross the various fields and merge research on these states: DC in near-death contexts, general anesthesia, sleep, ecstatic epilepsy, hypnosis, meditation, trance and drug-induced psychedelic experiences. The objective is threefold:(1) to compare the phenomenology of these eight states using qualitative and quantitative evaluations; (2) to examine the common neurophysiological signature using cutting-edge technologies in these states induced in laboratory; and (3) to study their transformative potential and well-being benefits

Opportunity

Those DC states and their transformative potential may capture something fundamental about our human experience and the capabilities of the mind, which as of yet have not received dedicated scientific inquiry. Despite recent important progress in exploring them in distinct fields, their potential common underlying neurophysiological mechanisms has not yet been explored. We want to bring together different expertise and establish a cross-disciplinary community of empirical studies. This will permit to better understand the experiential repertoire available to humans. The self-induced states studied here may improve well-being and open new avenues for potential novel therapies, enabled by their self-exploration processes

Roadblocks

1) Conceptual challenges: Different field communities use different terms and kinds of explanations that could cause confusion if not adequately translated, such as the concept of consciousness that has no universally accepted definition
2) Emerging fields: Some phenomena, such as trance, are not yet well characterized and not understood enough to be properly compared with other states
3) Challenges related to the subjective nature of the experience: All these DC states are challenging for research because they rely on the subjective nature of experience. Indeed, we are necessarily relying on indirect measures of experiences (e.g., personal accounts collected afterward)

Breakthroughs Needed

1) We plan to reunite experts from different fields and communities to encourage cross-fertilization between domains. This will permit to fully harness their potential applications for the flourishing of human potential. We strongly believe that this project will help fill the gap between science and spiritual experience.
2) We believe that the comparison of the different states planned in the present project will help to study them more in depth and to directly bring knowledge about each state itself.
3) Subjective experiences reproduced in laboratory experiments can be induced by different rigorous methods, and subjective experiences can be assessed by standardized scientific methods.

Key Indicators of Success

This ambitious (yet feasible) project follows several other studies conducted by our research team and others that involved patients and volunteers with physiological (e.g., sleep, near-death experiences), pharmacological (e.g., dreams under anesthesia or drug-induced psychedelic states) and pathological (e.g., disorders of consciousness) altered states of consciousness and modified states of consciousness (e.g., hypnosis, meditation and trance).
3 years: Do the different DC states have phenomenological similarities?
5 years: Has a common neurophysiological basis been found?
10 years: Did any of the states have healing properties?

Additional Information

Using hypothesis-based approaches, we aim to cross the various fields and merge research on these states: DC in near-death contexts, general anesthesia, sleep, ecstatic epilepsy, hypnosis, meditation, trance and drug-induced psychedelic experiences. To do so, we first suggest (1) to compare the phenomenology of these eight DC states using qualitative –such as the thematic analysis permitting to identify, analyse and report patterns within data– and quantitative (statistics and natural language processing such as the latent semantic analysis to obtain the semantic similarity between written reports) evaluations of first-person reports. These analyses will allow to define the different phenomena, to compare them and to establish a scientific conceptual framework. Methods, conceptual frameworks and results will be discussed between experts from various field communities. Second, we propose to examine the potential common neurophysiological signature using cutting-edge technologies –such as functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging and high-density electroencephalogram (all the material and techniques necessary for the implementation of this project are available in our institution; see my previous publications)– in these states induced in controlled laboratory setting. DC states induced in carefully medically and psychologically screened volunteers in a laboratory that will be always the same for the different experiments and includes identical experimental manifestations will permit to go beyond previous limitations and avoid several bias. Methods, conceptual frameworks and results of this part of the project will be also discussed between experts from various field communities. The third objective is to study their transformative potential and well-being benefits. This ambitious work will benefit from our (already existing) longstanding international collaborations with experts in different fields, but not only. Indeed, in the present project, we suggest to develop new international collaborations between communities and to set up annual conferences (open to all scientists) and meetings including only intern collaborators from different field communities, allowing to establish frequent opportunities to exchange and discuss about the DC states and their common characteristics.

5 references:
- https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e318249d0a7
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2019.12.010
- doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000001353
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2015.11.002
- DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.10.014

5 collaborators:
- Dr Olivia Gosseries
- Dr Mélanie Boly
- Dr Robert Sanders
- Dr Robin Carhart-Harris
- Dr Fabienne Picard