Near-death experiences occur across cultures, suggesting a biological basis. This work tests the hypothesis that thanatosis, or death-feigning—a last-resort defense seen in animals from insects to humans—is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. Thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy. Humans attacked by animal, human, or modern predators can exhibit both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and their phenomenology and effects overlap. The evidence indicates thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences, with the shared biological purpose of survival. Language may have transformed these stereotyped death-feigning events into the rich perceptions of near-death experiences, extending them to non-predatory situations.
A commentary on a study about brain dynamics that predict response to psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. The original study by Vohryzek and colleagues investigated how brain activity patterns before and during psilocybin treatment might identify which patients with treatment-resistant depression are likely to benefit. The commentary discusses the implications of these findings for understanding how psychedelics work in the brain and for developing personalized treatment approaches.