Endogenous Ketamine-Like Compounds and the NDE: If So, So What?
Journal of Near-Death Studies March 1, 1997 DOI: 10.1023/a:1025007226318 (opens in new tab) via Semantic Scholar
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThis commentary expands on Karl Jansen's ketamine model of the near-death experience, raising questions about self-experimentation as data, ketamine's similarities to and differences from classical hallucinogens, and the need to quantify unusual subjective states. It discusses clinical and toxicological implications, drugs as gateways to religious states, and the evolutionary versus religious significance of naturally occurring compounds in near-death states. The author proposes future research directions to clarify these areas, suggesting that further investigation could help explicate the model's various aspects.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Psychology |
| Key finding | Argues that Jansen's ketamine model raises important questions about self-experimentation, quantification of subjective states, and the significance of naturally occurring compounds in near-death experiences, and proposes future research to address these. |
Abstract
This commentary on Karl Jansen's ketamine model for the near-death experience expands upon and raises additional questions about several issues and hypotheses: self-experimentation as a source of data; ketamine's similarities to and differences from classical hallucinogens; the need for quantification of unusual subjective states; clinical research and toxicological implications of this model; drugs as gateways to “religious” states; and “evolutionary” versus “religious” significance of naturally occurring compounds released in the near-death state. I suggest future research that could help explicate several of these areas.