A New Classification of the Neurophysiological Modified States of Consciousness A peer-reviewed, referenced resource

A basic understanding of the different states and stages of the consciousness and its psychological and neural correlates, is of major importance for all scientists and clinicians. Before we define what makes up a modified state of consciousness, it is important to establish what consciousness is. Consciousness is not static: experiences constantly move in and out of our awareness as our states of mind and environments change. Conscious experience is like to feel pain, to see blue, and so on. We can define consciousness as the awareness we have of our environment and ourselves. Phenomenal consciousness and knowledge are understanding of conscious experience. Phenomenal concepts are concepts associated with that knowledge: those that express phenomenal qualities from the experiencing subject's perspective (Torin A., Sven W., 2007). What is the nature of such consciousness? How are the different modified states of consciousness related to abilities, such as the ability to visualize, or to feel inner sensations? How are they related to neuro-physical knowledge, psychological, philosophical and spiritual concepts? These are just a few of the questions that the essays in this volume address. This book would like to be a starting project managing, to mark specific points, to study the neurophysiological modified states of consciousness timeline.