10/24/2022 0 Comments Alien hallucination strain![]() Similar disturbances of self-consciousness are also reported in several psychiatric disorders, specifically in acute psychosis ( Bowers and Freedman, 1966 Gouzoulis-Mayfrank et al., 1998 Sass et al., 2013), as well as mystical-type experiences ( Baumeister and Exline, 2002 Hood, 2002) and deep meditative states ( Dor-Ziderman et al., 2013). ![]() In particular, a number of hallucinogenic compounds can induce thorough disturbances of self-consciousness, described as a dramatic breakdown of one’s sense of self, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “ego dissolution” ( Lebedev et al., 2015). While their immediate effects on perception and mood are well-documented ( Halberstadt, 2015), some of their complex effects at higher doses have received less attention until more recently. Hallucinogenic drugs are known to produce profound changes in consciousness. On the other hand, it suggests that ordinary conscious experience might involve a minimal kind of self-awareness rooted in multisensory processing, which is what appears to fade away during DIED. On the one hand, it challenges theories according to which consciousness always involves self-awareness. Finally, it is argued that DIED is also of particular interest for philosophy of mind. This hypothesis is consistent with Bayesian models of phenomenal selfhood, according to which the subjective structure of conscious experience ultimately results from the optimization of predictions in perception and action. This article suggests that DIED consists in the disruption of subpersonal processes underlying the “minimal” or “embodied” self, i.e., the basic experience of being a self rooted in multimodal integration of self-related stimuli. Second, it is necessary to define the relevant notion of self at play in the phenomenon of DIED. ![]() First, neural correlates of ego dissolution might reveal the necessary neurophysiological conditions for the maintenance of the sense of self, but it is more doubtful that this method can reveal its minimally sufficient conditions. While this line of inquiry is promising, its results must be interpreted with caution. It has been suggested that neuroimaging of DIED can indirectly shed light on the neural correlates of the self. While these substances act on different neurotransmitter receptors, they all produce strong subjective effects that can be compared to the symptoms of acute psychosis, including ego dissolution. Data from self-report questionnaires suggest that three neuropharmacological classes of drugs can induce ego dissolution: classical psychedelics, dissociative anesthetics and agonists of the kappa opioid receptor (KOR). This article discusses the relevance of this phenomenon, known as “drug-induced ego dissolution (DIED)”, for cognitive neuroscience, psychology and philosophy of mind. There is converging evidence that high doses of hallucinogenic drugs can produce significant alterations of self-experience, described as the dissolution of the sense of self and the loss of boundaries between self and world. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. ![]()
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