Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports

Autores
Martial, Charlotte; Cassol, Helena; Charland-Verville, Vanessa; Pallavicini, Carla; Sanz, Camila; Zamberlan, Federico; Martínez Vivot, Rocío; Erowid, Fire; Erowid, Earth; Laureys, Steven; Greyson, Bruce; Tagliazucchi, Enzo
Año de publicación
2019
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión aceptada
Descripción
Fil: Martial, Charlotte. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Cassol, Helena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Cassol, Helena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Charland-Verville, Vanessa. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; Argentina
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Fundación para la lucha contra las enfermedades neurológicas de la infancia; Argentina
Fil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Argentina
Fil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; Argentina
Fil: Erowid, Fire. Erowid Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Erowid, Earth. Erowid Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Laureys, Steven. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Greyson, Bruce. University of Virginia Health System. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière; Francia
Abstract: 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.
Fuente
Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69
Materia
MUERTE
FENOMENOLOGIA
SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
FARMACOLOGIA
ALUCINOGENOS
CONCIENCIA
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
Repositorio Institucional (UCA)
Institución
Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
OAI Identificador
oai:ucacris:123456789/14227
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:ucacris:123456789/14227
network_acronym_str RIUCA
repository_id_str 2585
network_name_str Repositorio Institucional (UCA)
spelling Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reportsMartial, CharlotteCassol, HelenaCharland-Verville, VanessaPallavicini, CarlaSanz, CamilaZamberlan, FedericoMartínez Vivot, RocíoErowid, FireErowid, EarthLaureys, StevenGreyson, BruceTagliazucchi, EnzoMUERTEFENOMENOLOGIASUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVASFARMACOLOGIAALUCINOGENOSCONCIENCIAFil: Martial, Charlotte. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; BélgicaFil: Cassol, Helena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cassol, Helena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Charland-Verville, Vanessa. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; BélgicaFil: Pallavicini, Carla. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Pallavicini, Carla. Fundación para la lucha contra las enfermedades neurológicas de la infancia; ArgentinaFil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Zamberlan, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; ArgentinaFil: Erowid, Fire. Erowid Center; Estados UnidosFil: Erowid, Earth. Erowid Center; Estados UnidosFil: Laureys, Steven. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; BélgicaFil: Greyson, Bruce. University of Virginia Health System. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière; FranciaAbstract: 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.Elsevier2019info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttps://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/142271090-2376 (online)1053-8100 (impreso)10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.01130711788Martial, C. et al. Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports [en línea]. Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69 doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.011 Disponible en: https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/14227Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69reponame:Repositorio Institucional (UCA)instname:Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentinaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/2025-07-03T10:58:38Zoai:ucacris:123456789/14227instacron:UCAInstitucionalhttps://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/Universidad privadaNo correspondehttps://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/oaiclaudia_fernandez@uca.edu.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:25852025-07-03 10:58:38.338Repositorio Institucional (UCA) - Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentinafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports
title Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports
spellingShingle Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports
Martial, Charlotte
MUERTE
FENOMENOLOGIA
SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
FARMACOLOGIA
ALUCINOGENOS
CONCIENCIA
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
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Martial, Charlotte
Cassol, Helena
Charland-Verville, Vanessa
Pallavicini, Carla
Sanz, Camila
Zamberlan, Federico
Martínez Vivot, Rocío
Erowid, Fire
Erowid, Earth
Laureys, Steven
Greyson, Bruce
Tagliazucchi, Enzo
author Martial, Charlotte
author_facet Martial, Charlotte
Cassol, Helena
Charland-Verville, Vanessa
Pallavicini, Carla
Sanz, Camila
Zamberlan, Federico
Martínez Vivot, Rocío
Erowid, Fire
Erowid, Earth
Laureys, Steven
Greyson, Bruce
Tagliazucchi, Enzo
author_role author
author2 Cassol, Helena
Charland-Verville, Vanessa
Pallavicini, Carla
Sanz, Camila
Zamberlan, Federico
Martínez Vivot, Rocío
Erowid, Fire
Erowid, Earth
Laureys, Steven
Greyson, Bruce
Tagliazucchi, Enzo
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv MUERTE
FENOMENOLOGIA
SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
FARMACOLOGIA
ALUCINOGENOS
CONCIENCIA
topic MUERTE
FENOMENOLOGIA
SUSTANCIAS PSICOACTIVAS
FARMACOLOGIA
ALUCINOGENOS
CONCIENCIA
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Fil: Martial, Charlotte. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Cassol, Helena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Cassol, Helena. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Charland-Verville, Vanessa. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; Argentina
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Fundación para la lucha contra las enfermedades neurológicas de la infancia; Argentina
Fil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Argentina
Fil: Martínez Vivot, Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Zamberlan, Federico. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Física; Argentina
Fil: Erowid, Fire. Erowid Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Erowid, Earth. Erowid Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Laureys, Steven. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
Fil: Greyson, Bruce. University of Virginia Health System. Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo. Institut du cerveau et de la moelle épinière; Francia
Abstract: 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.
description Fil: Martial, Charlotte. University Hospital of Liège. Consciousness and Neurology Department; Bélgica
publishDate 2019
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2019
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/14227
1090-2376 (online)
1053-8100 (impreso)
10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.011
30711788
Martial, C. et al. Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports [en línea]. Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69 doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.011 Disponible en: https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/14227
url https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/14227
identifier_str_mv 1090-2376 (online)
1053-8100 (impreso)
10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.011
30711788
Martial, C. et al. Neurochemical models of near-death experiences : a large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports [en línea]. Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69 doi:10.1016/j.concog.2019.01.011 Disponible en: https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/14227
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Consciousness and Cognition. 2019, 69
reponame:Repositorio Institucional (UCA)
instname:Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
reponame_str Repositorio Institucional (UCA)
collection Repositorio Institucional (UCA)
instname_str Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
repository.name.fl_str_mv Repositorio Institucional (UCA) - Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina
repository.mail.fl_str_mv claudia_fernandez@uca.edu.ar
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score 12.982451

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