Hypoxia, Psychedelics, and Terminal Lucidity: A Perspective on Neuroplasticity and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.
ACS pharmacology & translational science September 12, 2025 Junjie Zhang, Xiubo Du, Xinying Li et al.
Controlled reductions in oxygen availability—whether through psychedelics, near-death experiences, meditation, holotropic breathwork, or hypoxia therapies—may trigger calcium signaling pathways that promote synaptogenesis and the formation of new neural circuits. This process could enable functional rerouting rather than restoring damaged connections, supporting cognitive resilience and behavioral compensation in conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and psychiatric disorders. Terminal lucidity in late-stage dementia may be driven by transient hypoxia, highlighting the brain's latent capacity for rapid reorganization. Integrating insights from psychedelic research, hypoxia-based therapies, and neuroplasticity studies suggests a unifying framework that leverages altered oxygen homeostasis as a novel therapeutic strategy for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.