Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 16, Number 1, Fall 1997

Abstract: Although ketamine can induce a state similar to a near-death experience (NDE), there is a striking difference between experiences induced by ketamine used in a recreational context and in an operating room. Ketamine is a noncompetitive antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, as is ibogaine, the main alkaloid of a shrub used in Central Africa to induce NDEs in a religious context. Ibogaine can also elicit different experiences when used in a hallucinatory context or in initiatic rituals, where a superficial state of coma is induced. These data raise the question of whether the chemically-induced NDE-like experience is related to the use of a particular kind of substance or to a genuine comatose state.

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The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience: A Central Role for the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor, ark:/67531/metadc798994

Article offering commentary on Karl Jansen's ketamine model for the near-death experience, expanding upon and raising additional questions about several issues and hypotheses.

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Endogenous Ketamine-Like Compounds and the NDE: If So, So What?, ark:/67531/metadc799090

Article examining Karl Jansen's hypothesis that near-death experiences (NDEs) result from blockade of the N-methyl-D-asparate receptor.

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Is the Near-Death Experience Only N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Blocking?, ark:/67531/metadc799245

Abstract: This paper is a critique of Karl Jansen's hypothesis that near-death and ketamine experiences are caused by blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. An assumption that consciousness and its alterations are merely the product of neuronal activity is only one of many possible beliefs about reality. An alternative, which can be verified through one's own direct experiences, is that consciousness is always a subject and body is only its object. The objects come and go; consciousness remains.

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Which Comes First: Consciousness or Aspartate Receptors?, ark:/67531/metadc799285

Abstract: Karl Jansen raises a fundamental and exciting question: Is humankind's consciousness the result of neuronal function, or are there extracerebral aspects as well? While his neurotransmitter model of near-death experiences (NDEs) is well described, I find his supporting evidence weak. Methodological differences between studies of ketamine hallucinations and near-death experiences (NDEs) raise doubts about how similar those experiences are phenomenologically. While Jansen's model has electrifying implications, the data required to support his conclusions do not yet exist.

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Commentary on Jansen's Paper, ark:/67531/metadc799018

Abstract: We review strengths and weaknesses of Karl Jansen's approach to the near-death experience (NDE). Strengths include his limited goals and avoidance of the trap of explaining all features of the NDE with his theory, although he surprisingly misunderstood our previously published position. Additional, we applaud the possible intersection of psychological and biological theories, demonstrated in Jansen's biochemical explanations for the individualized variations in manifestation and adaptive role of the NDE. However, he failed to take into account the pitfalls in the use of analogy, modeling oversimplification, and in taking association as causality and causes as meaningful, in the arguments for his theory.

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Discussion of "The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience: A Central Role for the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor", ark:/67531/metadc799261

Article responding to commentaries on a paper discussing the ketamine model of the near-death experience.

Response to Commentaries on "The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience..." - ark:/67531/metadc799063

Article discussing a biological basis for near-death experiences (NDEs). For example, conditions that precipitate NDEs, such as hypoxia, ischemia, hypoglycemia, and temporal lobe epilepsy, have been shown to release a flood of glutamate, overactivating N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and resulting in neurotoxicity.

The Ketamine Model of the Near-Death Experience: A Central Role for the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor - ark:/67531/metadc799042