{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T02:44:31Z","timestamp":1791254671159,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]],"date-time":"2022-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1661299200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100016230","name":"Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100016230","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Y.C. Ho\/Helen and Michael Chiang Foundation"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000026","name":"National Institute on Drug Abuse","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["T32DA07209"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T32DA07209"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000026","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Both psychedelic drug experiences and near-death experiences can occasion changes in perspectives on death and dying, but there have been few direct comparisons of these phenomena. This study directly compared psychedelic occasioned and non-drug experiences which altered individuals\u2019 beliefs about death. Individuals who reported an experience that altered their beliefs about death occasioned by either a psychedelic drug or a near-death or other non-ordinary experience completed an online survey. Circumstances of the experience, mystical and near-death subjective features, changes in attitudes about death, and other persisting effects were evaluated. The study sample (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 3192) included five groups: non-drug near-death or other non-ordinary experiences (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 933), and drug experiences occasioned by lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 904), psilocybin (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 766), ayahuasca (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 282), or\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>N-<\/jats:italic>\n                    dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 307). Analyses of differences in experiences were adjusted statistically for demographic differences between groups. Compared to the psychedelic groups, the non-drug group was more likely to report being unconscious, clinically dead, and that their life was in imminent danger. The groups were remarkably similar in the reported changes in death attitudes attributed to the experience, including a reduced fear of death and high ratings of positive persisting effects and personal meaning, spiritual significance, and psychological insight. Although both psychedelic and non-drug participants showed robust increases on standardized measures of mystical and near-death experiences, these measures were significantly greater in the psychedelic participants. Non-drug participants were more likely to rate their experiences as the single most meaningful of their lives. Comparing across psychedelic substances, ayahuasca and DMT groups tended report stronger and more positive enduring consequences of the experience than the psilocybin and LSD groups, which were largely indistinguishable. These data provide a detailed characterization and comparison of psychedelic occasioned and non-drug experiences that changed attitudes about death and suggest the importance of future prospective psychedelic administration studies.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0271926","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]],"date-time":"2022-08-24T13:44:22Z","timestamp":1661348662000},"page":"e0271926","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":54,"title":["Comparison of psychedelic and near-death or other non-ordinary experiences in changing attitudes about death and dying"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6931-4321","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mary M.","family":"Sweeney","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sandeep","family":"Nayak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ethan S.","family":"Hurwitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lisa N.","family":"Mitchell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"T. Cody","family":"Swift","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5185-7854","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Roland R.","family":"Griffiths","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0271926.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1182","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881115609019","article-title":"Validation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin.","volume":"29","author":"FS Barrett","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol (Oxford)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1007\/7854_2017_474","article-title":"Classic hallucinogens and mystical experiences: Phenomenology and neural correlates.","volume":"36","author":"FS Barrett","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Top Behav Neurosci"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"424","DOI":"10.1021\/acsptsci.1c00014","article-title":"Predicting reactions to psychedelic drugs: A systematic review of states and traits related to acute drug effects.","volume":"4","author":"JS Aday","year":"2021","journal-title":"ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"725","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881118754710","article-title":"Psychedelics and the essential importance of context.","volume":"32","author":"RL Carhart-Harris","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"897","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2018.00897","article-title":"Predicting responses to psychedelics: A prospective study.","volume":"9","author":"ECHM Haijen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Pharmacol."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2020.03.017","article-title":"Long-term effects of psychedelic drugs: A systematic review.","volume":"113","author":"JS Aday","year":"2020","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"649","DOI":"10.1007\/s00213-011-2358-5","article-title":"Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: Immediate and persisting dose-related effects","volume":"218","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2011","journal-title":"Psychopharmacology (Berl)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881117731279","article-title":"Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors.","volume":"32","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"568","DOI":"10.1021\/acsptsci.0c00194","article-title":"The subjective effects of psychedelics are necessary for their enduring therapeutic effects.","volume":"4","author":"DB Yaden","year":"2021","journal-title":"ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1097\/YCO.0000000000000467","article-title":"How do psychedelics work?","volume":"32","author":"RL Carhart-Harris","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr Opin Psychiatry"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pharmthera.2018.11.010","article-title":"Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function","volume":"197","author":"MW Johnson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Pharmacol Ther"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"441","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/awab406","article-title":"Models of psychedelic drug action: Modulation of cortical-subcortical circuits","volume":"145","author":"MK Doss","year":"2022","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref013","first-page":"279","article-title":"A systematic review of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for mental health: An evaluation of the current wave of research and suggestions for the future.","volume":"7","author":"SW Wheeler","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychol Conscious (Wash DC)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"621","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881108094300","article-title":"Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later.","volume":"22","author":"R Griffiths","year":"2008","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1038\/scientificamerican1210-76","article-title":"Hallucinogens as medicine","volume":"303","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2010","journal-title":"Scientific American"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1097\/NMD.0000000000000113","article-title":"Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases.","volume":"202","author":"P Gasser","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Nerv Ment Dis"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1181","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881116675513","article-title":"Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial","volume":"30","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1001\/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116","article-title":"Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer","volume":"68","author":"CS Grob","year":"2011","journal-title":"Arch Gen Psychiatry"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref019","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1165","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881116675512","article-title":"Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized controlled trial","volume":"30","author":"S Ross","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref020","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pnpbp.2017.09.012","article-title":"Serotonergic hallucinogens in the treatment of anxiety and depression in patients suffering from a life-threatening disease: A systematic review","volume":"81","author":"S Reiche","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref021","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0214377","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0214377","article-title":"Survey of subjective \u201cGod encounter experiences\u201d: Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT.","volume":"14","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2019","journal-title":"PLOS ONE"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref022","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1008","DOI":"10.1177\/0269881120916143","article-title":"Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects.","volume":"34","author":"AK Davis","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Psychopharmacol."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref023","first-page":"367","volume-title":"Near\u2010death experiences and transpersonal psychology: Focus on helping near\u2010death experiencers","author":"C Fracasso","year":"2013","edition":"1"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.24972\/ijts.2012.31.1.97","article-title":"Psychoactive substances and paranormal phenomena: A comprehensive review","volume":"31","author":"D. Luke","year":"2012","journal-title":"International Journal of Transpersonal Studies"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref025","first-page":"331","volume-title":"Exploring the nature of exceptional human experiences: Recognizing, understanding, and appreciating EHEs.","author":"G Palmer","year":"2013","edition":"1"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"669","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691619895047","article-title":"Mystical and other alterations in sense of self: An expanded framework for studying nonordinary experiences.","volume":"15","author":"A Taves","year":"2020","journal-title":"Perspect Psychol Sci"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref027","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1794","DOI":"10.1007\/s12671-018-0922-3","article-title":"Meditation-induced near-death experiences: A 3-year longitudinal study.","volume":"9","author":"W Van Gordon","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mindfulness (N Y)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1097\/00005053-198306000-00007","article-title":"The Near-Death Experience Scale. Construction, reliability, and validity.","volume":"171","author":"B. Greyson","year":"1983","journal-title":"J Nerv Ment Dis."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref029","article-title":"The psychological correlates of decreased death anxiety after a near-death experience: The role of self-esteem, mindfulness, and death representations.","author":"S Bianco","year":"2019","journal-title":"J of Humanist Psychol."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref030","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"298","DOI":"10.1080\/10508619.2013.845005","article-title":"Congruence between near-death and mystical experience.","volume":"24","author":"B. Greyson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Psychol Relig"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1177\/00221678980383005","article-title":"Altered beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors following near-death experiences.","volume":"38","author":"G Groth-Marnat","year":"1998","journal-title":"J Humanist Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"302","DOI":"10.1037\/a0037258","article-title":"Daily spiritual experiences before and after near-death experiences.","volume":"6","author":"S Khanna","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psycholog Relig Spiritual"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref033","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2039","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(01)07100-8","article-title":"Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: A prospective study in the Netherlands","volume":"358","author":"P van Lommel","year":"2001","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1080\/13576275.2015.1043252","article-title":"\u201cI\u2019m not afraid to die\u201d: The loss of the fear of death after a near-death experience.","volume":"21","author":"NA Tassell-Matamua","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mortality"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1080\/07481189208252596","article-title":"Reduced death threat in near-death experiencers.","volume":"16","author":"B. Greyson","year":"1992","journal-title":"Death Stud"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref036","first-page":"24","article-title":"Near-death experiences and ayahuasca-induced experiences\u2014Two unique pathways to a phenomenologically similar state of consciousness","volume":"45","author":"MB Liester","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Transpersonal Psychology"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2019.01.011","article-title":"Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports.","volume":"69","author":"C Martial","year":"2019","journal-title":"Conscious Cogn"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref038","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1424","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2018.01424","article-title":"DMT models the near-death experience.","volume":"9","author":"C Timmermann","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103049","DOI":"10.1016\/j.concog.2020.103049","article-title":"The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation.","volume":"86","author":"C Martial","year":"2020","journal-title":"Conscious Cogn"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.3389\/fnint.2018.00054","article-title":"The varieties of the psychedelic experience: A preliminary study of the association between the reported subjective effects and the binding affinity profiles of substituted phenethylamines and tryptamines.","volume":"12","author":"F Zamberlan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front Integr Neurosci"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.1994.03950020022002","article-title":"Dose-response study of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in humans. II. Subjective effects and preliminary results of a new rating scale.","volume":"51","author":"RJ Strassman","year":"1994","journal-title":"Arch Gen Psychiatry"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"268","DOI":"10.1007\/s00213-006-0457-5","article-title":"Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance","volume":"187","author":"RR Griffiths","year":"2006","journal-title":"Psychopharmacology (Berl)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"721","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-5906.2012.01685.x","article-title":"Factor analysis of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire: A study of experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin.","volume":"51","author":"KA Maclean","year":"2012","journal-title":"J Sci Study Relig"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref044","first-page":"121","volume-title":"Death Attitude Profile-Revised: A multidimensional measure of attitudes toward death","author":"P Wong","year":"1994"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref045","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1007\/s00213-019-05391-0","article-title":"Embedding existential psychology within psychedelic science: Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the therapeutic effects of psychedelics","volume":"237","author":"SG Moreton","year":"2020","journal-title":"Psychopharmacology (Berl)."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0203358","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0203358","article-title":"Virtual mortality and near-death experience after a prolonged exposure in a shared virtual reality may lead to positive life-attitude changes.","volume":"13","author":"I Barberia","year":"2018","journal-title":"PLOS ONE"},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0169343","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0169343","article-title":"A virtual out-of-body experience reduces fear of death","volume":"12","author":"P Bourdin","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLOS ONE."},{"key":"pone.0271926.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-55880-5","volume-title":"Behavioral Neurobiology of Psychedelic Drugs","author":"AL Halberstadt","year":"2018"}],"container-title":["PLOS ONE"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0271926","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]],"date-time":"2022-08-24T13:45:22Z","timestamp":1661348722000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0271926"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Kirk Warren","family":"Brown","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]]},"references-count":48,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0271926","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,8,24]]}}}