A neurophenomenologically guided exploration of altered states of consciousness.

意识状态改变（ASCs）是通过药理学、心理学或生理学手段诱导的主观体验的短期偏差（Studerus et al., 2010）。ASCs在概述支撑正常清醒意识、走神、冥想和解决问题的潜在神经生物学机制方面特别有用。例如，对迷幻物质的研究使研究人员能够将脑磁图（MEG）信号多样性的变化与主观体验的变化联系起来（Schartner等人，2017）。这项研究强调了意识神经科学的一个重要但被忽视的方法：神经现象学（Varela, 1996）。神经现象学将现象学报告与神经生理学分析相结合，以弥合主观经验与客观测量之间的解释差距（Ataria, 2017）。通过发展客观和可量化的现象学分析，认知神经科学家可以在多个试验中交叉验证他们的神经生理分析，并更确定地得出客观神经生理信号代表特定ASCs的结论。将新的现象学方法与认知神经科学中的神经生理学测量相结合，可以说是意识研究的下一个必要步骤。因此，这个项目的目的是应用和发展一种新的现象学方法，这种方法是由意识和认知实验室（ESRC博士生Barbara Jachs）创建的。现象学和电生理学数据是在之前的博士项目中从一组冥想者那里收集到的。这些数据将被分析为特定的神经特征，这些特征可能与冥想期间培养的特定主观体验“集群”有关。除此之外，现象学方法还将应用于诱导ASC的其他两种实践。首先，广义上讲，就是呼吸练习。这些练习在实验心理学中还没有得到充分的研究，但据称，由于对呼吸的主动控制和操纵，这些练习可以诱发根本性的ASC。因此，该项目的第二个目的是将新的现象学方法与呼吸练习培养的经验相结合。

Altered states of consciousness (ASCs) are short-lasting deviations in subjective experience that are induced via pharmacological, psychological, or physiological means (Studerus et al., 2010). ASCs have been particularly useful in outlining the potential neurobiological mechanisms that underpin normal waking consciousness, mind-wandering, meditation and problem-solving. For example, studies with psychedelic substances have allowed researchers to correlate changes in magnetoencephalography (MEG) signal diversity to changes in subjective experience (Schartner et al., 2017). This study highlights an important, yet overlooked method for the neuroscience of consciousness: neurophenomenology (Varela, 1996). Neurophenomenology combines phenomenological reports with neurophysiological analyses to bridge the explanatory gap between subjective experiences and objective measures (Ataria, 2017). By developing objective and quantifiable phenomenological analyses, cognitive neuroscientists may cross-validate their neurophysiological analyses across multiple trials, and conclude with greater certainty that objective neurophysiological signals are representative of specific ASCs. Combining novel phenomenological methods with neurophysiological measures within cognitive neuroscience is, arguably, the next requisite step in the study of consciousness.The aim of this project is therefore to apply and develop a novel phenomenological method created by the Consciousness and Cognition Lab (ESRC PhD student Barbara Jachs). Phenomenological and electrophysiological data has been collected from a group of meditators during the previous PhD project. The data will be analysed for specific neural signatures that may be associated with specific 'clusters' of subjective experiences that were cultivated during the meditations. In addition to this, the phenomenological method will also be applied to two other practices that induce an ASC. The first is, broadly, breathwork practices. These practices have been particularly understudied in experimental psychology, but can allegedly induce a radically ASC, due to the active control and manipulation of breathing. The secondary aim of this project is to therefore tailor the novel phenomenological method to the experiences that are cultivated by breathwork practices.