A traditional jungle plant can simulate a ‘near-death experience’ when eaten, a study has found. Ayahuasca, which natives in Central and South America drink in liquid form, is used to create the psychedelic drug known as Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). And while the drug is illegal in most countries, its link with spirituality is widely acknowledged.
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Researchers have found a ‘large overlap’ between descriptions of so-called NDEs and the effects of the drug, whose name translates as ‘vine of the dead’. A team from Imperial College London gave 13 volunteers DMT and then asked them to complete a questionnaire. They compared their responses to those of a sample of 67 people who had previously had NDEs.
Each of the groups reported visions of bright light and the feeling outside of the body traveling through a “vacuum”, inner peace and a sense of transition to another world.
Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, lead author of the study in Frontiers in Psychology, said that studying the effects of DMT would help scientists better understand the psychology and biology of death. “
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