Empirically Informed Philosophy of Mind online Seminar

Nous aurons le plaisir d'écouter Lucie Berkovitch 

“Psychedelics and the Therapeutic Potential of Altered States of ConsciousnessPsychedelics" (LSD, 

hallucinogenic mushrooms, ayahuasca, mescaline, etc.) are psychoactive substances which can induce intense acute subjective effects including perceptual distortions, altered perception of time and space, mystical or transcendental experiences, and, in extreme cases, ego dissolution, i.e., the feeling of no longer existing as a separate being. These effects have been described as altered states of consciousness. Consciousness can be defined as the ability to generate mental representations that are accessible and reportable to others. The brain mechanisms of consciousness have been extensively studied. Awareness seems to begin when information is sufficiently intense and amplified by attention. This allows it to be broadcast across different brain areas throughout a neuronal network, allowing us to keep it in mind but also to manipulate it. Taking psychedelics drastically alters brain activity: some regions usually connected to each other are no longer connected, and conversely, new connections appear between regions that are usually independent of each other. In this presentation, we will discuss how neuroscience can be used to try to explain the subjective effects of psychedelics using consciousness theories and frameworks. Then, we will attempt to link these effects on conscious perception to the therapeutic potential of these molecules, which has recently been rediscovered. Finally, we will talk about potential limitations associated with psychedelic use in clinical practice notably because of the altered state of consciousness they induce.

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