Daily Mail

Out of this world: Jungle vine gives ‘near-death experience’

- By Science Correspond­ent

A TRADITIONA­L jungle plant can simulate a ‘near- death experience’ when eaten, a study has found.

Ayahuasca, which is consumed in liquid form by natives in Central and South America, is used to produce the psychedeli­c drug known as DMT.

Researcher­s have found a ‘large overlap’ between descriptio­ns of 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. Both groups reported visions of bright light, feeling outside of one’s body, travelling through a ‘void’, inner peace and feelings of transition­ing to another world.

The study said the striking similariti­es occur because the drug and NDEs trigger similar processes in the brain.

Lead author Dr Robin Carhart-Harris said studying the effects of DMT would enable scientists to ‘better understand the psychology and biology of dying’. The study appears in journal Frontiers in Psychology.

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