Consciousness: Understanding the Mind-Brain Connection
The Metamorphosis of Consciousness
Philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists have long tried to understand the nature of consciousness. The normal state of consciousness involves simply observing how the mind manifests itself. Studying different states of consciousness is to enter into the mystery of the human mind.
The Mind-Brain Problem
The dream of neuropsychologists is to understand what the mind is. Neuroscience investigates the structure and organization of the human brain and mental processes. Several key perspectives exist:
- Dualism: Dualists believe that the brain and mind are two separate entities that may interact but possess distinct characteristics. The brain is material and known through external spatial perception, lacking awareness. The mind is immaterial, captured only by internal perception, and is where consciousness resides.
- Monism: Monists reject the division between brain and mind. Consciousness is simply the result of the activity of organized neurons; the mind depends on brain activity and is not a separate reality, as Francis Crick argued.
- Emergentism: Emergentists claim that mental processes emerge from physiological and biological processes, but are not reducible to them. Consciousness emerges from the brain and is capable of influencing the brain, directing its actions, as Roger Sperry believed.
What is Consciousness?
Consciousness is a subjective experience of self-knowledge and reality, formed by the external world and experiences (images, sounds, colors, etc.). As psychologist William James noted, consciousness is a stream or flow of constantly changing knowledge. This knowledge allows us to exercise voluntary control and communicate our mental and emotional states to others.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness characterized by reduced attention and increased suggestibility. There are three methods of hypnotic induction:
- Quick Induction: Requires a high level of attention from the subject and only works with very suggestible people.
- Induction by Fixation: The subject is asked to look straight at an object, focusing attention and making other stimuli less relevant.
- Induction with Progressive Relaxation: The hypnotist uses verbalizations and suggestions that facilitate tiredness of the eyes, relaxation, and the absence of fear. This brings the subject to a deep hypnotic state. This technique is used to treat stress problems because it incorporates physical and mental relaxation.
What are Drugs?
Drugs are psychoactive substances that act on the central nervous system, affecting perceptions, feelings, and behavior. Psychopharmacology is the science that investigates the effects of drugs on the body and human behavior.
The Unconscious
Sigmund Freud distinguished three states of consciousness: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The unconscious designates repressed contents that are not present in the field of consciousness. Its features are:
- No Logical Laws: It does not follow the logical principle of non-contradiction.
- Absence of Temporal Chronology: The unconscious does not distinguish between past, present, and future.
- Concrete Thinking: The unconscious does not operate with concepts or abstractions but is concrete, unlike the abstract conscious mind.
- Ancient and Primitive: It does not show the subtle gradations of the conscious mind.
- Governed by the Pleasure Principle: The functioning of the human mind is driven by unconscious biological pulsations.