The Psychedelic Drug DMT Can Simulate a Near-Death Experience, Study Suggests (vice.com)

dmoberhaus writes: In the first study of its kind, [published this week in the journal Frontiers in Psychology,] researchers dosed 13 people with the potent psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT) to investigate its similarity to near-death experiences. As the researchers found, DMT does in fact induce experiences that are qualitatively similar to NDEs, [but the intensity of these NDEs largely depend on context]. Motherboard spoke with an independent researcher who pioneered DMT research in the 90s to discuss the possible implications of this research. While tricky to define due to their subjective nature, "NDEs tend to share many common elements, such as feelings of inner peace, the experience of traveling through a tunnel, out of body experiences, and encounters with sentient beings," reports Motherboard. A psychiatrist not involved with the study "suggested that the overlap between DMT and NDEs could possibly be explained on a biological level since DMT is naturally produced in small quantities by the human body and has been shown to minimize neuronal damage due to hypoxia (insufficient oxygen) in test tubes," reports Motherboard. "Thus, [the psychiatrist said] 'one could construct a coherent scenario where endogenous DMT rises in response to cardiac arrest/hypoxia in order to protect the brain as long as possible.'"

Comments

Incorrect description NDE

[aepervius]

""NDEs tend to share many common elements, such as feelings of inner peace, the experience of traveling through a tunnel, out of body experiences, and encounters with sentient beings,""

While the first studies reported those elements, by now it is pretty much clear that 1) NDE depends on cultural backgrounds and 2) there are also negative one which go under reported because most religious folk don't like to report they saw vision of hell on where they think they are going after death. Just sayin'.

Re:'out of body experiences' are delusions

[alvinrod]

Actually leaving your body and going on some kind of spirit journey is fake, but some psychedelic substances can give the perception of out of body experiences. I've had experiences where I've felt as though I'm floating outside of my body or otherwise no longer anchored to it, even though I really know that I was still physically sitting on the coach.

You don't even need to be high for your brain to experience sensory perceptions that aren't real. Phantom limb, for example, is one such well established and researched phenomenon.

Re:'out of body experiences' are delusions

[bill_mcgonigle]

Actually leaving your body and going on some kind of spirit journey is fake

If it's happening in your brain, it's not fake, by definition. That the meaning may be difficult to derive is a separate issue but the reality cannot be questioned. This is a novice materialist error which contradicts the central materialist claim.

That so many psychedelics turn off inhibatory centers specifically should give pause to those who claim that experiences are "fake" or "delusions". Anybody who can see an optical illusion should understand that the world isn't precisely what we sense. It takes years of building processing filters for humans to build a stable subset of reality that they can filter.