Elevated state of consciousness: what it is and how it affects the brain
Let's see what the heightened state of consciousness is and how it relates to drugs such as LSD.
Consciousness is an abstract concept that is difficult to define, but is easier to understand in its absence.It is easier to understand in its absence. That is to say, it can be clearly defined that non-living entities are not self-conscious, just as dead matter that was once alive is not capable of recognizing the surrounding reality or its own state.
But what about animals, do the rest of living beings have a sense of identity, are they self-aware? Many scientists recognize that most species with a central nervous system (CNS) have certain brain capacities to perceive suffering and enjoyment in a more or less conscious way, so this capacity cannot be ruled out in the animal kingdom. In invertebrates and other taxa, the question remains open.
The state of consciousness is even more complicated beyond the animal species that present it, as it turns out that it is differentiated into several levels, some of them reachable only (so far) through the use of psychedelics. Do you dare to dissect the human mind with us? In this opportunity, we tell you what is the elevated state of consciousness and what causes it..
What is consciousness?
As we have said previously, it is easier to define what consciousness is not than what it really means. Still, we will make an effort to circumscribe this very abstract term in a series of words. According to the Royal Academy of the Spanish language (RAE), consciousness could be defined as follows: "is the capacity of the human being to recognize the surrounding reality and to relate to it; coma consists in the total loss of consciousness".
The thing gets more complicated from here on, because it turns out that consciousness and conscience are not the same thing, at least not from a strict point of view.. A single letter differentiates them phonetically, but, if we get technical, we will discover that their indistinct use is often erroneous. Consciousness is always synonymous with consciousness, but consciousness is not interchangeable with awareness.
Returning to the initial definition, the consciousness of the human being is the capacity of our species to recognize the surrounding reality, to respond to it and, in addition, to be capable of the immediate knowledge of the subject itself, its acts and its reflections.its actions and its reflections. On the other hand, conscience usually has a much more ethical and moral component, since based on what is distinguished in the environment or in one's own, certain components are attributed. Let's look at these differences with an example:
- I fell to the ground and fainted, but regained consciousness shortly thereafter. The subject was able to recognize him/herself and place him/herself in the environment..
- I always act according to my conscience. The subject attributes a moral charge to his way of seeing things and his environment, and decides the mechanisms of action based on it..
Surely both examples have made things a little clearer, haven't they? Once this linguistic conflict has been delimited, we are ready to know everything about the elevated state of consciousness. Don't miss it.
What is the elevated state of consciousness?
The heightened state of consciousness is an exceptional type of consciousness, i.e. it goes beyond waking, sleeping and dreaming and does not correspond to the usual alterations of the brain level or structure. In other words, this event is characterized by being different from the state of beta waves (brain electromagnetic oscillations) typical of the circadian phase in which we are awake.
In general, 3 types of consciousness can be distinguished within "normality".. These are as follows:
- Alert level: someone responds to stimuli and experiences perceptions, but is not fully aware of them. This is where vegetative patients would fall, for example.
- Level of self-awareness: when the subject pays attention to his own internal world and becomes a reflective observer of himself.
- Level of meta-self-awareness: a level that is a consequence of the previous one. The subject is aware that he is aware: "I am aware that I am sad".
Thus, the state of elevated consciousness would be out of these 3 meanings, being considered as an "elevation" of it. How is it possible to reach this state?
Consciousness and LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD is a semi-synthetic psychedelic substance that produces psychotropic effects.. Experiences after consumption include hallucinations, synesthesia, distorted perception of the ego, altered consciousness and the visualization of entities and images that are perceived as totally real by those who consume it, despite not being observable by the environment.
After the consumption of this drug, a state known as "lysergic intoxication" is reached.. In this state, the daily image of the world presents an extreme and sudden transformation, even generating a suppression of the "I/you" barrier. This has a great utility in the medical field, because patients with an egocentric disorder get rid of their fixation, isolation and are more receptive to the indications of a professional. In addition, this psychedelic allows to recover contents or experiences already forgotten or repressed, reviving memories of early childhood.
LSD and human consciousness have been studied on multiple occasions, so there is already an extensive collection of bibliography on the interactions between both in public scientific libraries. Even so, a new study calls our attention: in volume 227 of the journal Neuroimage, published in February 2021, research has been collected that shows that LSD provokes in the patient a greater diversity of neuronal signals, or what is the same, a greater brain activity or a "heightened state of consciousness".
LSD acts on serotonin receptors in the brain, a key neurotransmitter in the human nervous system. Because of its temporal effects on the mind and brain, it is postulated that the serotonergic pathway of LSD represents a powerful method for connecting physiological phenomena with their brain analogues, which would promote the individual's understanding and comprehension of both.
Based on 2 typical characteristics of the human mind (integration and segregation), it has been demonstrated at the neurological level that the consumption of LSD produces an elevated state of consciousness that is atypical and impossible to reach in any other way.It promotes an abnormal increase in the functional complexity of the brain. During lysergic intoxication, brain regions act in a less "bound" way than usual, due to the presence or absence of anatomical connections.
We know that we are moving in rather complex terms, but if we want to keep you with one idea, it is this: certain postulations argue that the anatomical connections of the brain are, in part, a product of the individual's expectation of which sections of his brain should exchange information. These "expectations" would be shaped by factors as intrinsic to the individual and the species as evolution and experience.
According to the research cited, during lysergic intoxication, the expected structural-functional correlation is drastically reduced.. Being less constrained by previous preconceptions (due to the effects of the drug), the brain is free to explore a series of connective patterns that go beyond those dictated by human anatomy. This could explain the formation of images and realities completely different from the normal ones and the dissolution of the "I", or in other words, it would allow the individual to reach a higher state of consciousness.
Summary
As complex as it may sound, the overall message of the research and the article shown is the following: consciousness is based on the perception of our surroundings and ourselves, but, of course, this is circumscribed by our physiological limitations and what we expect from them. With the use of drugs such as LSD, the brain is "freed" from anatomical-functional ties and correlations and is therefore and, therefore, it is able to explore terrain completely impossible to understand without the action of the psychedelic.
This is not meant to encourage anyone to take illegal substances to experience altered states of consciousness. Es necesario tener en cuenta que la tenencia y el consumo de drogas como el LSD siguen estando penadas por la ley y encierran numerosos peligros, así que solo el individuo es responsable de sus acciones si decide consumirlas.
Referencias bibliográficas:
- Cohen, S. (1967). The beyond within: The LSD story. New York: Atheneum.
- Halberstadt, A. L., Klein, L. M., Chatha, M., Valenzuela, L. B., Stratford, A., Wallach, J., ... & Brandt, S. D. (2019). Pharmacological characterization of the LSD analog N-ethyl-N-cyclopropyl lysergamide (ECPLA). Psychopharmacology, 236(2), 799-808.
- Luppi, A. I., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roseman, L., Pappas, I., Menon, D. K., & Stamatakis, E. A. (2021). LSD alters dynamic integration and segregation in the human brain. NeuroImage, 227, 117653.
- Nichols, D. E. (2018). Dark classics in chemical neuroscience: lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). ACS chemical neuroscience, 9(10), 2331-2343.
- Pinto Meneses, J. A. (2019). Resilience factors in adolescents exposed to use and abuse of psychotropic substances, living in El Relleno Sanitario de la zona tres of Guatemala City (Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala).
- States of consciousness, NOVA. Retrieved February 10 at https:
(Updated at Apr 14 / 2024)