scholarly journals The method of dialogue with the sleeping subject in the state of lucid dream, using respiratory movements

Author(s):  
A.Yu. Mironov ◽  
A.V. Sinin ◽  
V.B. Dorokhov

In research of lucid dreams (LD), an altered state of consciousness that occurs during the REM sleep stage, the task of LD identification is normally solved with a unidirectional communication method. An experimental subject, while sleeping, signals about his/hers state by performing a series of eye movements. We have developed a new alternative method that allows for bidirectional information exchange (dialogue) between the researcher and the sleeping subject. A researcher was presenting the arithmetic tasks via audio playback. The subject analyzed the received instruction and used respiratory activity (fast series of breathing movements) or eye movements as signals to answer. Pilot series of experiments have verified the ability of the subject to maintain the dialogue and correctly execute the instructions without waking up. This indicates the subject’s sensitivity in regards to external auditory stimuli and the ability to consciously process them in the state of LD. This is the first reported method of bidirectional communication with a person in the state of LD to date, which expands the possibilities for the objective investigation of this altered state of consciousness. We also report our modification of the sleeping subject/researcher dialogue method that is currently under development. It utilizes smartphone sensors and allows conducting the experiment in remote mode via the Internet, which makes it possible to engage a broad circle of lucid dreaming enthusiasts who practice at home.

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Martindale

The Russian Formalists and Czech Structuralists argued that foregrounding devices such as deformation and deautomatization are central to literature. They saw that such devices build a pressure for novelty into literature. Literature must change constantly because readers gradually become used to and bored with initially novel and interesting deformations. Formalist and Structuralist theorists saw that literature should change but could not explain the direction in which it would change. They hypothesized that the direction of change is determined by extra-literary sociocultural forces. I argue that this hypothesis may be wrong. If we examine the way in which people think of novel word combinations in the first place, we can formulate a theory that explains the direction of literary change. Production of novelty often involves movement away from ordinary waking consciousness toward an altered state of consciousness. Within the confines of a given style, to produce something even more novel, poets must regress to an even more altered state of consciousness. The state of mind in which a poem is produced to some extent determines the words used in the poem. Given that the pressure for novelty is always present whereas other forces acting upon poets vary, we can predict the direction in which poetry tends to move from the alterations in consciousness required to produce ever more novel poetry. Statistical analyses of several poetic traditions show that this is, indeed, the main direction in which poetry evolves.


2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 140-144
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Nesic ◽  
Zoran Todorovic ◽  
Olgica Gajovic ◽  
Predrag Canovic

Introduction. Acute viral encephalitis is an infectious disease, which is characterized by sudden onset, serious clinical picture and with an uncertain outcome. Disturbances of consciousness are common in the course of acute viral encephalitis. Consciousness is the highest form of psychic life and consciousness disturbances may include quantitative (somnolentia, sopor, coma) and qualitative symptoms (convulsions, twilight state). Material and methods. We investigated 63 patients with acute viral encephalitis. The youngest patient was 15, and the oldest one 69 years of age. We examined the state of consciousness in all patients. Results Of all examined patients, 54 (85.72%) patients had disturbances of consciousness, 9 (14.25%) patients had no consciousness disturbances, 11 (17.46%) patients had sopor and 24 (38.09%) patients were in coma. The highest percentage of lethal outcomes was recorded in coma patients (12.5%). The longer the duration of consciousness disturbances, the higher the mortality among these patients. Discussion Subjective and objective factors cause different grades and duration of consciousness disturbances. The highest percentage of patients who recovered without consequences was established in the group of patients (81.82%) with somnolence. The highest percentage of patients who recovered with consequences (20.8%) and patients (12.5%) with lethal outcome was recorded in the group of patients in coma. These findings are in correlation with literature data. .


1994 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Glicksohn

Why is it that raters differ in their assessment of subjective experience? Assuming that the rater's personal involvement or experience with the subject matter would determine the location of a diagnostic threshold, individual differences in rating would be indexed by the former. In this study, independent judges were asked to assess introspective reports for the appearance of an altered state of consciousness. The rater's own absorption score was determined, and a negative correlation ( r = −0.48) was found between the number of instances of an altered state of consciousness (ASC) assessed and absorption score. Interrater disagreement regarding subjective experience may therefore be a function of variability in absorption.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 615-631
Author(s):  
Enrico Facco ◽  
Fabio Fracas ◽  
Patrizio Tressoldi

Aim of this paper is to review the state of the art of so-called altered states of consciousness, anomalous experiences, and exceptional human experiences, showing the need for reappraising the whole topic and gather them under one roof. The term Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs) and a new classification of non-pathological ostensibly odd phenomena is introduced, emphasizing their epistemological, transcultural and interdisciplinary implications with their huge  implications in medical and psychotherapeutical clinical practice. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750017
Author(s):  
S. Tarunkumar ◽  
S. S. P. Raghul ◽  
V. Karthik Raj ◽  
Vetrivel Pon

One of the primary neural disorders is Paralysis, which causes loss of motion in one or more parts of the body muscles. Quadriplegia is a condition, where both the arms and the legs are paralyzed; as a result, the person is entirely dependent on the caretakers. To help them overcome their difficulties, we proposed a system which can control the house appliances, to communicate, monitor and alert the caregivers or the doctors in the case of an emergency by using his/her eye movements. These eye movements can be recorded using Electrooculography (EOG) that can be used to perform these simple tasks. EOG is the measurement of the corneo-retinal standing potential of the eye. This paper describes how the acquisition of EOG signals is made which can be used to control the home appliances. Also, a communication method for the quadriplegic patients to interact with the caregivers and the designing of a monitoring system which can be used for monitoring the quadriplegic patients and an alarm with pop-up message that can be used to alert the caretakers. The proposed work also describes the electrode placements so as to reduce the artifacts, the types of electrodes used, simple circuits and the programming that are used to control the house appliances using EOG signals. The picked up EOG signal from the subject is given to the processing block which suitably provides an output which can be utilized as an input to the NI MyRIO where the programming is done to control the household appliances and for communication.


Author(s):  
Quoc Khai Le ◽  
Thi Huong Trang Pham ◽  
Trung Hieu Nguyen ◽  
Thi Diem Thy Huynh ◽  
Quang Linh Huynh

Sleep deprivation of high school and university students is currently an actual concerning issue. Sleep deprivation is one of the leading causes of dozing-off during daytime. Usually, the state of drowsiness is very little concerned, but studies on drowsiness show the importance of investigating the frequency of occurrence as well as the need to clarify the cause and propose limited measures appeared dozing-off. Dozing-off is not only an undesirable state and disrupts daily activities, but also provides information on personal health status. In that case, early alertness for dozing-off event is very helpful in preventing unwanted consequences. The study has designed a process to record dozing-off event, then constructed and implemented the hypnogram processing program that evaluated quantitative changes in polysomnography signals at sleep onset, the transition time from wake stage to sleep stage. By analyzing the energy spectrum of the signal and using wavelet transform in combine with the support vector machine algorithm, the research allows a comprehensive evaluation of the state of dozing-off. Determining the exact time of onset of sleep is very important in the study of drowsiness. Extracting the time of this event appears to help develop an application for early warning dozing-off. Besides, it allows making an initial assessment of the condition of the subject when the time of drowsiness begins suddenly. Six recordings from volunteered students were processed from a 45-minute vigilance test. All of the volunteers had no neuropathy and were well explained to the procedures used in this study. The results show that depending on kinds of different applications, signals such as EEG, EOG, or EMG are used individually or in combination to fetch suitable results. The result presented a successful method to distinguish dozing-off event with other stages.


Author(s):  
Ю. М. Оборотов

В современной методологии юриспруденции происходит переход от изучения состо­яний ее объекта, которыми выступают право и государство, к постижению этого объек­та в его изменениях и превращениях. Две подсистемы методологии юриспруденции, подсистема обращенная к состоянию права и государства; и подсистема обращенная к изменениям права и государства, — получают свое отображение в концептуальной форме, методологических подходах, методах, специфических понятиях. Показательны перемены в содержании методологии юриспруденции, где определяю­щее значение имеют методологические подходы, определяющие стратегию исследова­тельских поисков во взаимосвязи юриспруденции с правом и государством. Среди наи­более характерных подходов антропологический, аксиологический, цивилизационный, синергетический и герменевтический — определяют плюралистичность современной методологии и свидетельствуют о становлении новой парадигмы методологии юриспру­денции.   In modern methodology of jurisprudence there is a transition from the study the states of its object to its comprehension in changes and transformations. Hence the two subsystems of methodology of jurisprudence: subsystem facing the states of the law and the state as well as their components and aspects; and subsystem facing the changes of the law and the state in general and their constituents. These subsystems of methodology of jurisprudence receive its reflection in conceptual form, methodological approaches, methods, specific concepts. Methodology of jurisprudence should not be restricted to the methodology of legal theory. In this regard, it is an important methodological question about subject of jurisprudence. It is proposed to consider the subject of jurisprudence as complex, covering both the law and the state in their specificity, interaction and integrity. Indicative changes in the content methodology of jurisprudence are the usage of decisive importance methodological approaches that govern research strategy searches in conjunction with the law and the state. Among the most characteristic of modern development approaches: anthropological, axiological, civilization, synergistic and hermeneutic. Modern methodology of jurisprudence is pluralistic in nature alleging various approaches to the law and the state. Marked approaches allow the formation of a new paradigm methodology of jurisprudence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniella De Paula Chiesa ◽  
Mário Antônio Sanches ◽  
Daiane Priscila Simão-Silva

O estudo do Planejamento familiar, no contexto da bioética, abre-se para diversas perspectivas, entre elas a valorização dos seus diferentes atores. Situado neste contexto o artigo tem como objetivo identificar o perfil de gênero na produção científica sobre Planejamento Familiar no Brasil, entre 2000 e 2014, assim como a área de formação e especialização dos autores. Foram utilizadas metodologias que permitiram mapear o estado da arte do tema estudado, a partir de uma revisão da literatura. O resultado da pesquisa identifica que a produção científica sobre Planejamento Familiar no Brasil se compõe de perfil destacadamente feminino (71,76%). Dos 73 artigos analisados, 42 (57,53%) o foco do tema está direcionado à mulher assim como evidencia-se a área de ciências da saúde com maior concentração das publicações do tema.  Este aspecto da pesquisa abre para uma realidade complexa onde se buscam criticamente as razões para a pesquisa em Planejamento Familiar ter ênfase na mulher e ser um tema de relevância nas ciências da saúde.Palavras-chave: Produção científica, Planejamento Familiar, Gênero.  ABSTRACT: The study of Family Planning, in the context of bioethics, opens to diverse perspectives, among them the appreciation of their different agents. Situated in this context the article aims to identify the profile of gender in scientific literature on Family Planning in Brazil, between 2000 and 2014, as well as the area of training and specialization of the authors. Methodologies were used which allowed to map the State of the art of the subject studied, from a review of the literature. The results found identify that the scientific production on Family Planning in Brazil is formed with a outstandingly female profile (71,76%). Of the 73 articles examined, 42 (57.53%) the focus of the topic is directed to women as well as showing the health sciences area with highest concentration of publications. This aspect of the research opens to a complex reality where we seek critically the reasons for Research in Family Planning have emphasis on woman and be a topic of relevance in health sciences.Keywords: Scientific Production, Family Planning, Gender.


2016 ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Marta Witkowska

The aim of the article is to present possible scenarios on maintaining democracy in the EU, while assuming different hypothetical directions in which it could develop as a federation, empire and Europe à la carte. Selected mechanisms, norms and values of the EU system that are crucial for the functioning of democracy in the European Union are the subject of this research. The abovementioned objective of scenario development is achieved through distinguishing the notions of policy, politics and polity in the research. In the analysis of the state of democracy in the European Union both the process (politics) and the normative approach (policy) have been adopted. The characterised norms, structures, values and democratic procedures in force in the EU will become a reference point for the projected scenarios. The projection refers to a situation when the existing polity transforms into a federation, empire or Europe à la carte. The article is to serve as a projection and is a part of a wider discussion on the future of the basis on which the European Union is build.


1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-70
Author(s):  
Florence Eid

IntroductionThis paper is a report on the state of research in two areas of Islamicstudies: Islam and economics and Islam and governance. I researched andwrote it as part of my internship at the Ford Foundation during the summerof 1992. On Discourse. The study of Islam in the United States has moved far beyondthe traditional historical and philological methods. This is perhapsbest explained by the development of analytically rigorous social sciencemethods that have contributed to a better balance between the humanisticconcerns of the more traditional approaches and efforts at systematizingthe study of Islam and classifying it across boundaries of communities,religions, even epochs. This is said to have s t a d with the developmentof irenic attitudes towards Islam, which changed the direction of westemorientalist writings from indifference (at best) and often open hostility toand contempt of Islamic values (however they were understood) to phenomenologicalworks by scholars who saw the study of Islam as somethingto be taken seriously and for its own sake, which is best exemplifiedby Clifford Geertz's Islam Observed.The work of Edward Said contested this evolution, and the publicationof his Orientalism has been described as "a stick of dynamite"' that,despite its impact in mobilizing a reevaluation of the field, was unwarrantedin its pessimism. In any case, the field has continued to evolve,with the most powerful force moving it being the subject itself. Thephenomenological/orientalist approach, if we can point to one today, ...


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