Within-subject comparison of near-death and psychedelic experiences: acute and enduring effects

People who have had both a near-death experience (NDE) and a psychedelic experience (PE) report overlapping mystical-like effects, such as feelings of unity and transcendence, and similar attributions of reality, psychological insights, and lasting changes. However, low-level sensory phenomena differ: NDEs involve stronger disembodiment, while psychedelics produce more visual imagery. The study used an online survey of 31 adults who had experienced both an NDE (scoring ≥27 on the NDE-C scale) and a PE with classic psychedelics. Bayesian and frequentist analyses confirmed these overlaps and differences, suggesting psychedelics can model the mystical aspects of NDEs but not their sensory features.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Mystical-like states of consciousness may arise through means such as psychedelic substances, but may also occur unexpectedly during near-death experiences (NDEs). So far, research studies comparing experiences induced by serotonergic psychedelics and NDEs, along with their enduring effects, have employed between-subject designs, limiting direct comparisons. We present results from an online survey exploring the phenomenology, attribution of reality, psychological insights, and enduring effects of NDEs and psychedelic experiences (PEs) in individuals who have experienced both at some point during their lifetime. We used frequentist and Bayesian analyses to determine significant differences and overlaps (evidence for null hypotheses) between the two. Thirty-one adults reported having experienced both an NDE (i.e. NDE-C scale total score ≥27/80) and a PE (intake of lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin/mushrooms, ayahuasca, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or mescaline). Results revealed areas of overlap between both experiences for phenomenology, attribution of reality, psychological insights, and enduring effects. A finer-grained analysis of the phenomenology revealed a significant overlap in mystical-like effects, while low-level phenomena (sensory effects) were significantly different, with NDEs displaying higher scores of disembodiment and PEs higher scores of visual imagery. This suggests psychedelics as a useful model for studying mystical-like effects induced by NDEs, while highlighting distinctions in sensory experiences.