Relationship Between Ayahuasca Use and Cotard Syndrome: Is the Subjective Experience of Death a Potential Capacity of the Human Psyche?
Elena María Martínez Gijón
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) August 7, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21837303 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Key points | Proposes that the subjective experience of “being dead” may be a latent capacity of the human psyche, potentially universal, and that ayahuasca-induced experiences and Cotard syndrome may represent different conditions allowing this state to emerge. |
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.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The globalization of ayahuasca: Harm reduction or benefit maximization? | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Towards psychedelic apprenticeship: Developing a gentle touch for the mediation and validation of psychedelic-induced insights and revelations. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ayahuasca healing beyond the Amazon: the globalization of a traditional indigenous entheogenic practice | 2008 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |