Martial Charlotte, Carhart-Harris Robin, Timmermann Christopher
Coma Science Group, GIGA-Consciousness, University of Liège, Avenue de l'hôpital, Liège 4000, Belgium.
Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Psychiatry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Neurosci Conscious. 2024 Aug 30;2024(1):niae033. doi: 10.1093/nc/niae033. eCollection 2024.
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, -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.
类似神秘主义的意识状态可能通过迷幻物质等方式产生，但也可能在濒死体验（NDEs）中意外出现。到目前为止，比较血清素能迷幻剂引发的体验和濒死体验及其持久影响的研究采用的是组间设计，限制了直接比较。我们展示了一项在线调查的结果，该调查探索了一生中在某个时刻经历过濒死体验和迷幻体验（PEs）的个体的现象学、现实归因、心理洞察以及持久影响。我们使用频率主义和贝叶斯分析来确定两者之间的显著差异和重叠（零假设的证据）。31名成年人报告既经历过濒死体验（即NDE - C量表总分≥27/80）又经历过迷幻体验（摄入麦角酸二乙酰胺、裸盖菇素/蘑菇、死藤水、二甲基色胺或三甲氧苯乙胺）。结果揭示了两种体验在现象学、现实归因、心理洞察和持久影响方面的重叠领域。对现象学进行更细致的分析发现，在类似神秘主义的效果方面存在显著重叠，而低层次现象（感官效果）有显著差异，濒死体验在脱离身体方面得分更高，迷幻体验在视觉意象方面得分更高。这表明迷幻剂是研究濒死体验引发的类似神秘主义效果的有用模型，同时突出了感官体验上的差异。
