This is your brain on death: a comparative analysis of a near-death experience and subsequent 5-Methoxy-DMT experience.
Pascal Michael, David Luke, Oliver Robinson
Frontiers in Psychology 2023 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083361 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | An individual who had a near-death experience during a coma caused by bacterial meningoencephalitis and later used 5MeO-DMT |
| Intervention | 5MeO-DMT |
| Topics | 5-MeO-DMT Mystical experience Near-death experience DMT |
| Keywords | Encephalitis Endogenous Thematic analysis Near-death experience nde Near death Clinical death Psychedelics hallucinogens Entheogens Spiritual experiences |
| Citations | 19 |
| Key findings | The NDE and 5MeO-DMT experience shared many features, but the participant did not consider them similar enough to attribute the NDE to endogenous psychedelics, and the NDE contained unique themes like life review, the deceased, and a threshold. |
Abstract
Much research has focused on the modeling of the near-death experience (NDE) by classical and atypical psychedelics; however, to date, no study has reported on the relationship between the NDE and the experience induced by the highly potent, endogenous psychedelic drug 5-Methoxy-DMT (5MeO-DMT). This article presents a case study of an individual who is popularly documented to have had a profound near-death experience while in a coma caused by bacterial meningoencephalitis. Additionally, the individual also subsequently underwent an experience with 5MeO-DMT. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the subject concerning his experiences with both the NDE and 5MeO-DMT. A basic thematic analysis was performed on both the original text describing the NDE as well as the interview itself, which mainly focused on the subject's experience with 5MeO-DMT. This analysis was organized to identify both the similar and different emergent themes between the two states, with a particular emphasis on the subject's perceptions of the similarities and differences between the experiences. There is a very high level of comparability between the original NDE and psychedelic experiences in general, including shared characteristics such as entering other worlds, meeting menacing or benevolent entities, experiencing synesthesia, perinatal regression, and lucid dreamlike properties. Much comparability was also identified with the 5MeO-DMT experience, in particular the major mystical experiential domains, such as ego dissolution, but especially transcendence of time and space. However, there were also a few unique themes (life review, the deceased, and the threshold) that emerged in the NDE that were not present in the 5MeO-DMT experience or other psychedelic experience studies, suggesting that these themes may be more unique to the NDE. Despite such similarities, the participant asserted that his NDE and psychedelic experiences were not similar enough to be attributed to endogenous psychedelics. In this study, we discussed several mechanisms that could potentially account for the NDE, including lucid dreams and perinatal regression. However, the study also explored the possibility that the unique etiology of the participant's NDE, bacterial meningoencephalitis affecting the neocortex, may have triggered similar downstream neural activity as that initiated by psychedelic agents through pyramidal neuronal activation. This hypothesis is presented with appropriate caveats and acknowledged as speculative.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-Death Experiences in India Individuals in India who reported near-death experiences | 1986 | Case study | n = 16 |
| The Near-Death Experience as a Focus of Clinical Attention Patients presenting with near-death experience-related problems | 1997 | Case study | n = 4 |
| A prospectively studied near-death experience with corroborated out-of-body perceptions and unexplained healing. A person who had a near-death experience | 2006 | Case report | n = 1 |
| Verified account of near-death experience in a physician who survived cardiac arrest. A 32-year-old female physician experiencing childbirth | 2020 | Case study | n = 1 |
| Near-death experiences and dissociation: Two cases. Individuals reporting near-death experiences and out-of-body experiences, including... | 1993 | Case study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 18
- Benefits and Challenges of Ultra-Fast, Short-Acting Psychedelics in the Treatment of Depression American Journal of Psychiatry 2025
- 5-MeO-DMT: An atypical psychedelic with unique pharmacology, phenomenology & risk? Psychopharmacology December 11, 2023
- A neuroscientific model of near-death experiences. Nature Reviews Neurology June 1, 2025
- Autonomic nervous system activity correlates with peak experiences induced by DMT and predicts increases in well-being. Journal of Psychopharmacology October 1, 2024
- Ayahuasca-induced personal death experiences: prevalence, characteristics, and impact on attitudes toward death, life, and the environment Frontiers in Psychiatry December 19, 2023
and 13 more in the library
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