State-Dependent Perceptions and States of Consciousness As Forms of Communication - PsychedelX Talk
Tart's systemic model of consciousness introduced a frame by which we could organize non-ordinary discrete states of consciousness (dSoCs) using the measurable characteristics universal to all such states. A breakthrough in accurately mapping the relationship between brainwave frequency, state of consciousness, awareness, and expression can be made by studying the many interrelated facets of these dSoCs.The state-dependent nature of cognition, perception, and memory, for instance, constitute an important first step towards the eventual establishment of safe and evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies within controlled clinical settings. A change in one's state of consciousness away from baseline can dramatically alter, not only the nature of their awareness towards self and other, but the speed, character, intensity, and tone of their thought associations. Additionally, a light review of the findings of my research into the electroencephalographic signature of dSoCs as they relate to the communication or isochronic "transmission," of said states. An ancient form of this isochronic entrainment was practiced by my grandmother, for example, in the traditional shamanic heritage practiced by her Sami tribe in the Lapland region of Finland. Most broadly, the talk will attempt to illustrate that non-ordinary ranges of information accessed by modulating one's dSoC are best communicated and received by persons occupying that same dSoC. The mechanics of this perceptual system are best understood using metaphor: these non-ordinary ranges of information are bound to discrete "bandwidths" of consciousness and cannot be communicated unless that same oscillatory state is achieved by the receiver. These broad fundamentals of traditional and contemporary psychedelic use will, subsequently, be framed within the Latent Inhibition (LI) and Semantic Network cognitive models, which provide a useful and evidence-based way of expressing the core defining features of the psychedelic experience.
Why is this Important?
Understanding baseline and non-ordinary states of consciousness as existing along a spectrum of frequencies with many oscillatory regions provides a natural framework within which related changes in cognition, perception, and memory can be mapped. This constitutes an important first step towards the developing safe and evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies for use within controlled clinical settings.
How does this differ from already existing work?
Most of the above-described cognitive models were developed to measure and understand the anomalies of perception and thought association seen in patients suffering from thought disordered (TD) schizophrenia. Applying them to measure and understand the anomalies of perception and thought association induced by psychedelic use is an innovation new to the field.