Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports
The real or perceived proximity to death often results in a non-ordinary state of consciousness characterized by phenomenological features such as the perception of leaving the body boundaries, feelings of peace, bliss and timelessness, life review, the sensation of traveling through a tunnel and an...
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2019
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| Acceso en línea: | https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial |
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paper:paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial2023-06-08T16:03:02Z Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports Dissociatives Near-death experience Phenomenology Psychedelics ketamine n,n dimethyltryptamine psychedelic agent psychotropic agent adult Article consciousness cultural anthropology drug use dying female human male neurobiology neurochemistry neuroprotection personal experience retrospective study Salvia divinorum semantics The real or perceived proximity to death often results in a non-ordinary state of consciousness characterized by phenomenological features such as the perception of leaving the body boundaries, feelings of peace, bliss and timelessness, life review, the sensation of traveling through a tunnel and an irreversible threshold. Near-death experiences (NDEs) are comparable among individuals of different cultures, suggesting an underlying neurobiological mechanism. Anecdotal accounts of the similarity between NDEs and certain drug-induced altered states of consciousness prompted us to perform a large-scale comparative analysis of these experiences. After assessing the semantic similarity between ≈15,000 reports linked to the use of 165 psychoactive substances and 625 NDE narratives, we determined that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine consistently resulted in reports most similar to those associated with NDEs. Ketamine was followed by Salvia divinorum (a plant containing a potent and selective κ receptor agonist) and a series of serotonergic psychedelics, including the endogenous serotonin 2A receptor agonist N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This similarity was driven by semantic concepts related to consciousness of the self and the environment, but also by those associated with the therapeutic, ceremonial and religious aspects of drug use. Our analysis sheds light on the long-standing link between certain drugs and the experience of “dying“ suggests that ketamine could be used as a safe and reversible experimental model for NDE phenomenology, and supports the speculation that endogenous NMDA antagonists with neuroprotective properties may be released in the proximity of death. © 2019 2019 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial |
| institution |
Universidad de Buenos Aires |
| institution_str |
I-28 |
| repository_str |
R-134 |
| collection |
Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA) |
| topic |
Dissociatives Near-death experience Phenomenology Psychedelics ketamine n,n dimethyltryptamine psychedelic agent psychotropic agent adult Article consciousness cultural anthropology drug use dying female human male neurobiology neurochemistry neuroprotection personal experience retrospective study Salvia divinorum semantics |
| spellingShingle |
Dissociatives Near-death experience Phenomenology Psychedelics ketamine n,n dimethyltryptamine psychedelic agent psychotropic agent adult Article consciousness cultural anthropology drug use dying female human male neurobiology neurochemistry neuroprotection personal experience retrospective study Salvia divinorum semantics Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| topic_facet |
Dissociatives Near-death experience Phenomenology Psychedelics ketamine n,n dimethyltryptamine psychedelic agent psychotropic agent adult Article consciousness cultural anthropology drug use dying female human male neurobiology neurochemistry neuroprotection personal experience retrospective study Salvia divinorum semantics |
| description |
The real or perceived proximity to death often results in a non-ordinary state of consciousness characterized by phenomenological features such as the perception of leaving the body boundaries, feelings of peace, bliss and timelessness, life review, the sensation of traveling through a tunnel and an irreversible threshold. Near-death experiences (NDEs) are comparable among individuals of different cultures, suggesting an underlying neurobiological mechanism. Anecdotal accounts of the similarity between NDEs and certain drug-induced altered states of consciousness prompted us to perform a large-scale comparative analysis of these experiences. After assessing the semantic similarity between ≈15,000 reports linked to the use of 165 psychoactive substances and 625 NDE narratives, we determined that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine consistently resulted in reports most similar to those associated with NDEs. Ketamine was followed by Salvia divinorum (a plant containing a potent and selective κ receptor agonist) and a series of serotonergic psychedelics, including the endogenous serotonin 2A receptor agonist N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). This similarity was driven by semantic concepts related to consciousness of the self and the environment, but also by those associated with the therapeutic, ceremonial and religious aspects of drug use. Our analysis sheds light on the long-standing link between certain drugs and the experience of “dying“ suggests that ketamine could be used as a safe and reversible experimental model for NDE phenomenology, and supports the speculation that endogenous NMDA antagonists with neuroprotective properties may be released in the proximity of death. © 2019 |
| title |
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| title_short |
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| title_full |
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| title_fullStr |
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| title_sort |
neurochemical models of near-death experiences: a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_10538100_v69_n_p52_Martial |
| _version_ |
1768541763786506240 |