Overall, a high level of comparability was observed between the NDE and the psychedelic experience, with common themes emerging, such as the transcendence of time and space, ego dissolution, and cosmic love. Credit: Neuroscience News

Summary: A research study scrutinizes the parallels and differences between a near-death experience (NDE) during a coma and the experience induced by a potent psychedelic drug, 5-Methoxy-DMT (5MeO-DMT).

The researchers found shared themes, such as ego dissolution and space-time transcendence. However, specific themes like life review, meeting with deceased loved ones, and a sense of no return were only reported in NDEs.

The participant also expressed that, despite similarities, the experiences felt significantly distinct.

Key Facts:

1. The research represents one of the few studies that systematically report on individuals who have experienced both a classical psychedelic and a near-death experience.
2. The study found common themes such as the transcendence of time and space, ego dissolution, and cosmic love in both NDEs and psychedelic experiences.
3. However, unique elements such as life review, meeting deceased loved ones, and the sense of a no-return threshold were reported only in NDEs.

Source: BIAL Foundation

Researchers analyzed the similarities and differences between a near-death experience (NDE) while in a coma and the experience induced by a psychedelic drug.

Despite the common themes that emerged, such as space-time transcendence or ego dissolution, only in the NDE were the themes of life review, meeting deceased loved ones, and a threshold of no-return reported.

In 1994, Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, reported finding high comparability between LSD and a subsequent NDE. However, apart from Grof’s study, no other has systematically reported on persons experiencing both a classical psychedelic and a near-death experience, as well as their reflections on comparability.

Thus, there was a gap in the study on the relationship between the NDE and the experience induced by the highly potent endogenous psychedelic drug called 5-Methoxy-DMT (5MeO-DMT).

Pascal Michael and collaborators analyzed the similarities and differences between a NDE, during a coma, and an experience induced by the psychedelic drug 5MeO-DMT.

The article “This is your brain on death: a comparative analysis of a near-death experience and subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT experience,” published in June in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, presents a case study of a 54-year-old Caucasian man from North America, who is popularly documented for having had a profound near-death experience while in a coma caused by bacterial meningoencephalitis. In addition, the individual also subsequently underwent an experience with 5MeO-DMT.

The researchers from the University of Greenwich and Imperial College (U.K.) conducted a semi-structured interview with the subject concerning his experiences with both the NDE and 5MeO-DMT, and then analyzed the similar and different emergent themes between the two states, with particular emphasis on the subject’s own perceptions on the similarities and differences between the experiences.

Overall, a high level of comparability was observed between the NDE and the psychedelic experience, with common themes emerging, such as the transcendence of time and space, ego dissolution, and cosmic love.

However, specific themes also emerged in NDEs that were not present in the psychedelic experience, namely life review, the deceased, and the threshold.

This finding echoes a further study presently in review by the authors comparing a similar psychedelic, NN-DMT, and the NDE.