Ketamine and the near-death experience.

The near-death experience (NDE) shares its phenomenology with experiences induced by ketamine, an anesthetic used medically and recreationally. Surveys suggest NDE-type hallucinations from ketamine are common. The parallels can be explained by several models: the NDE as a chemically induced hallucination similar to ketamine's effects; ketamine inducing objective out-of-body experiences; ketamine-linked NDEs arising from expectancy and hospital settings; or the NDE as an archetypal experience triggered by various situations. Each theory has strengths and weaknesses.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The phenomenology that typically accompanies the near-death experience (NDE) is also sometimes a by-product of ketamine, an anesthetic used in both medical and recreational settings. Some surveys indicate that NDE-type ketamine hallucinations are quite common. The close parallels between some ketamine experiences and the NDE can be explained by a variety of conceptual models, including these: the NDE is a similar form of chemically induced hallucination; ketamine induces objective out-of-body experiences (OBEs); ketamine-linked NDEs are artifacts produced by expectancy and the hospital setting; or the NDE is an archetypal experience catalyzed under a variety of different situations. Each of these theories has explanatory advantages and disadvantages.