Relationship Between Ayahuasca Use and Cotard Syndrome: Is the Subjective Experience of Death a Potential Capacity of the Human Psyche?

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to explore possible similarities between the subjective experience of “being dead” described by some individuals following ayahuasca use and the conviction of being dead that may occur in certain cases of Cotard syndrome. Interest in this question arises from a recurring observation, both in testimonies collected directly and in accounts publicly available on the Internet, of individuals who describe having literally felt dead during the effects of ayahuasca. Scientific literature has also begun to specifically investigate these experiences, referred to as Ayahuasca-induced Personal Death experiences (APD). The present work is based on a fundamental distinction: the subjective experience of being dead is not equivalent to ego dissolution, experiences of unity, depersonalization, the sense of nonexistence, or out-of-body experiences, although some of these states may occur simultaneously. Based on the occurrence of experiences related to one’s own death under very different circumstances, the exploratory hypothesis is proposed that the capacity to subjectively experience the state of “being dead” may form part of the potential repertoire of states of the human psyche. The central question, therefore, is whether different conditions may allow the emergence of a state that the human mind potentially possesses the capacity to generate, and whether this capacity could be universal.