The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation

Abstract

Near-death experiences are known from all parts of the world, various times and numerous cultural backgrounds. This universality suggests that near-death experiences may have a biological origin and purpose. Adhering to a preregistered protocol, we investigate the hypothesis that thanatosis aka. death-feigning, a last-resort defense mechanism in animals, is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. We first show that thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy occurring at all major nodes in a cladogram ranging from insects to humans. We then show that humans under attack by animal, human and “modern” predators can experience both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and we further show that the phenomenology and the effects of the two overlap. In summary, we build a line of evidence suggesting that thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences and that their shared biological purpose is the benefit of survival. We propose that the acquisition of language enabled humans to transform these events from relatively stereotyped death-feigning under predatory attacks into the rich perceptions that form near-death experiences and extend to non-predatory situations.

The Reality and Application of <i>Yin and Yang</i>

“…Modern science proves the existence of the soul through quantum experiments, foreseeing the situation in the world after the death of some beings. This universality suggests that near-death experiences may have a biological origin and purpose [17]. A surgeon describes the process of near-death experiences in detail [18].…”

Language as a Window Into the Altered State of Consciousness Elicited by Psychedelic Drugs

“…Interestingly, the purported neuroprotective properties of ketamine (more precisely, its capacity to prevent cell death through over-excitation by antagonism at N-methyl- d -aspartate [NMDA] receptors; Hudetz and Pagel, 2010 ) led to speculations of an endogenous chemical with a similar mechanism of action that is released at times when neuroprotection could help to increase the likelihood of survival (e.g., hypoxia) ( Jansen, 1997 ). However, the acute effects of ketamine and related dissociative agents might negatively affect the survival of the organism when faced with situations that require a rapid and precise response (although a possible evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences is thanatosis, i.e., death feigning behavior) ( Peinkhofer et al, 2021 ). Moreover, near death experiences have been reported by individuals who did not suffer major physical trauma, which casts further doubt on the neuropharmacological origin of these experiences ( Charland-Verville et al, 2014 ).…”

Neuro-functional modeling of near-death experiences in contexts of altered states of consciousness

“…The focus of our present review is the etiology of personal experiences which have fascinated, for a long time, both scientific, medical and esoteric communities, the near-death experiences (NDEs). Although reports about NDEs are known from many cultural backgrounds and for many centuries (Zaleski, 1987;Schlieter, 2018; 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846159 Shushan, 2018;Peinkhofer et al, 2021) this term was introduced to a broad English speaking public by Moody (1975) reviewing reports of patients from the USA having survived life-threatening situations (e.g., car accidents, drowning, cardiac arrest). An example of an NDE narrative recorded after a car accident can be found in Supplementary material 1.…”