Subjective experience

While brain serotonin systems may play a key role in mediating some of the effects of MDMA on analgesia and body temperature as well as in the reported anxiolytic-like and mood-altering subjective effects of the drug, additional neurotransmitter systems may contribute to some of the unique subjective experiences reported for MDMA and other drugs in this class. 

O Pain is an unpleasant subjective experience that is the net effect of a complex interaction of the ascending and descending nervous systems involving biochemical, physiologic, psychological, and neocortical processes. 

Awad, A.G. et al. (1995). Patients subjective experiences on antipsychotic medications implications for outcome and quality oflife. Int. Clin. Psychopharmacol, 10(3), 123-32. 

Concerns about psychotropic side effects, which can vary cross-culturally, often lead to premature cessation of psychotropics. This may be related to different propensities for and values placed on somatic experiences in different cultures. Transcultural research indicates that patients from non-Western cultures are more likely to present with predominantly somatic symptoms of psychiatric disorders (Ng, 1997 Parker, Gladstone 8c Chee, 2001), as cultural explanatory models and social demands may serve to bias information processing in the various domains of subjective experience (Angel 8c Thoits, 1987). Several studies have shown that the perception and reporting of side effects are influenced by cultural beliefs... 

The most common physiological effects of placebos are those that are associated with changes in subjective experience. When placebo stimulants make people feel energized and alert, for example, they also increase their blood pressure and heart rate,... 

The first recorded studies into the effects of cannabis were carried out by the French physician Moreau in the early 19th century, who was interested in the relationship between the state of cannabis intoxication and the characteristics of mental illness. Moreau and his students recorded their subjective experiences after consuming... 

The subjective experience of how strong a smell is relates to the amount of petrol in the air and the amount is directly proportional to the pressure of gaseous petrol. We call this pressure of petrol the partial pressure p(petrol)-And if several gases exist together, which is the case for petrol in air, then the total pressure equals the sum of the partial pressures according to Dalton s law ... 

A mythical divine being is a projection of the subjective and a symbolization of the objective. In them subjective and objective meet and unite. They are the projection of our desires and the representation of the factors in the Cosmic Life of which our desires are the subjective experience.2... 

Panksepp, J. (1994). Evolution constructed the potential for subjective experience within the neurodynamics of the neomammalian brain. In P. Ekman R. J. Davidson (Eds.), The Nature of Emotion Fundmental questions (pp. 396-399). Oxford Oxford University Press. 

A defining feature of autistic people is their difficulty in communication. Their subjective experience has therefore been glimpsed only darkly. Recently a few people who were autistic have recovered sufficiently to have written accounts of their experiences. The experience they describe is remarkably similar to what would be expected from an ethologically influenced account of autistic behaviour. The translation to and from these two views, the inside and the outside, supports the ethologically influenced description of autistic behaviour. It reminds us how ethologists try and enter the minds of the individuals they observe, and it provides insights into the relationship between subjective experience and publically observable behaviour an essential aspect of intersubjectivity. 

Whereas pain is used to refer to the total subjective phenomena associated with injury and suffering, nociception more specifically refers to the aspect of sensory transmission. Nociception is the more correct term for the experimental study of pain, because it is objectively measured through a behavior in animals and humans alike (e.g., withdrawal reflexes, verbal ratings). The actual subjective experiences are private and known to each subject alone. However, for the sake of convenience, the word pain will be used here to address both aspects. Similarly, the word analgesia, meaning the relief from pain, will be used in place of the more objective term antinociception. 

Stprsrud, S., Hulthen, L. R., and Lenner, R. A. (2003a). Beneficial effects of oats in the gluten-free diet of adults with special reference to nutrient status, symptoms and subjective experiences. Br. J. Nutr. 90,101-107. 

Attention and the related phenomenon of arousal are clearly crucial to the generation of consciousness. Both processes contribute to the (everyday) experience of the focus and level of awareness. Many reviews of attention begin with the following quotation from William James Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. (James, 1890). The enduring resonance of this dehnition is due to its encapsulation of the essence of the subjective experience of attention. James emphasises the fact that attention selects stimuli from a surplus of environmental information ( simultaneously possible objects ), and maybe focussed perceptually or inwardly as a train of thought. Of particular relevance to the present chapter,... 

More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing Distractibility (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli)... 

Analgesia means pain relief. Pain is an extremely subjective experience. 

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