The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience: A Central Role for the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor
K. Jansen
Journal of Near-Death Studies March 1, 1997 DOI: 10.1023/a:1025055109480 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine Near-death experience |
| Key points | Proposes that conditions precipitating NDEs may trigger neuroprotective agents that bind to NMDA receptors, producing an altered state of consciousness similar to that induced by ketamine. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) can be reproduced by ketamine via blockade of receptors in the brain for the neurotransmitter glutamate, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Conditions that precipitate NDEs, such as hypoxia, ischemia, hypoglycemia, and temporal lobe epilepsy, have been shown to release a flood of glutamate, overactivating NMDA receptors and resulting in neurotoxicity. Ketamine prevents this neurotoxicity. There are substances in the brain that bind to the same receptor site as ketamine. Conditions that trigger a glutamate flood may also trigger a flood of neuroprotective agents that bind to NMDA receptors to protect cells, leading to an altered state of consciousness like that produced by ketamine.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times | 1987 | Historical analysis | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology. | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-death experiences between science and prejudice | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 32
- Psychobiology of Altered States of Consciousness. Psychological Bulletin 2005
- Ketamine psychotherapy for heroin addiction: immediate effects and two-year follow-up. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment December 1, 2002
- A Review of the Nonmedical Use of Ketamine: Use, Users and Consequences Journal of Psychoactive Drugs December 1, 2000
- Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports. Consciousness and Cognition March 1, 2019
- NEAR‐DEATH EXPERIENCES AND SPIRITUALITY Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science June 2, 2006
and 27 more in the library
Cites 12
- Subanesthetic Effects of the Noncompetitive NMDA Antagonist, Ketamine, in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry March 1, 1994
- The dissociative anaesthetics, ketamine and phencyclidine, selectively reduce excitation of central mammalian neurones by N‐methyl‐aspartate British Journal of Pharmacology June 1, 1983
- The phenomenology of near-death experiences American Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 1980
- The Near-death Experience The British Journal of Psychiatry November 1, 1988
- Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins Medical Hypotheses 1990
and 7 more in the library