Scott Emerson, MD ABIHM, FACMT

I was warm, peaceful, cozy and content as I had been watching my body cross country skiing in a 50 kilometer marathon race thru the woods in a howling blizzard.  I was observing from 20 to 30 feet above.  There were brilliant yellow patterns of energy flowing from my head into my arms and legs with every stroke of my skis thru the deep snow. It was so beautiful.  I didn’t understand why the attendants at the 38 K aid station were guiding my body to sit down next to a trailside bonfire and were forcing me to drink something that looked like hot fluids.  But after a short while, I suddenly went back down into my body and realized how cold, weak and miserable I felt.  I wanted to go back to the way I had just felt before.

personal log  Feb 2, 1986

The Bottom Lines  

At near death the body produces  a surge of a psychedelic substance that acts in multiple ways for our benefit.  First,  dimethyltryptamine (DMT) works like  a flashlight within the darkness of  an approaching death to help us navigate a very confusing, transitional landscape for our consciousness.  Second, DMT is also highly neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory helping to mitigate cellular damage from a close brush with the death experience, and, subsequent return to this life.    Third, these psychedelic near death experiences (NDEs)  also result in “rewiring”  of the brain with profound changes in perspectives, values and meanings of this life.  

Sudden surges in the body’s DMT concentrations  has the ability to almost instantly  alter internal neuron microtubule frequency resonances, transforming the brain’s electromagnetic biofield into higher frequency ranges (Vohryzek, J et al. 2025 & Hunt, T , 2025). This, combined with DMT’s unique,  direct  intracellular action at the serotonin (5HT) 2A receptor subtype,   manifests as a psychedelic experience like no other.  These new electric fields and microtubule  electromagnetic currents provide direction and guidance for physical neuron branching and rearrangement to follow. New microtubular structures are  then built in a rapid and dynamic fashion  acting as antenna-like guides to growth  spines within individual neurons.   These growth projections expand and reach  out into an array of new brain areas.  “Tuning“ of consciousness into different electromagnetic frequency resonances becomes immediately possible, and physical neuron synaptic connectedness becomes more diverse over time.   All of this  is operating together as key phenomena of an intreging process within the near death experience. This is also true with  the use of DMT administered as medicine  for individuals undergoing psychedelic assisted therapy, but with some important experiential differences. 

The Near Death Experience.

What  a consciousness may or may not experience after death is beyond the western scientific approach to knowledge.  But the ancient spiritual traditions, lead by  their mystical avatars,  as well as indigenous Amerindian healers, have explored the realms beyond  death via different ways of knowing.  The strong belief that some portion of us exists as a consciousness or a soul, both before, and after life, is central in the vast majority of  Amerindian, Eastern and Western spiritual teachings.  

But western science has now made it possible via  medical technology and advanced resusitation techniques, to increase survival rates after sudden near fatal incidents ( rapid death) as well as prolonging the death of critically ill individuals ( slow death).  This has resulted in a corresponding dramatic increase in the numbers of people reporting sudden near death experiences (NDEs).  It also has provided an opportunity for medical professionals to observe what hospice patients are undergoing  in the days immediately before their slow deaths.  These increasing case reports of  reconnaissance with  sudden death or approaching death are providing insights about what may exist beyond physical death and how ancient spiritual perspectives may be close to the truth.  Enough similar case reports – become data.  

NDEs are experienced in 40 to 50 % of  sudden flat line (EEG & ECG) trauma victims & cardiac arrests  (rapid deaths) as well as smaller numbers of  slow death hospice patients ( Shlobin, N et. al.  2023 ;  Lammers, W,   “Hospice  When Death is Near” 2024; Novas, A, 2024).  These experiences  can include supraconsciousness,  ego dissolution, out of body experiences, ability to move through solid barriers and reporting  events  and objects that should be impossible for them to see.  Transcendence of time & space, and rapid travel toward alluring realms of light and divine Earth-like utopian landscapes infused with dramatic colors and life is also frequently reported.   A  life review of  the individual’s important experiences with others,  usually from the object’s perspective,  and reaching a “point of no return” threshold guarded by enchanted entities or deceased relatives are common themes.  These entities may be benevolent or menacing, but act as guides or  teachers that are blocking  entry through the threshold.  Love, unity and a mystical interconnectedness with the universe are the dominant emotions.  Fear and forboding landscapes can also be present, but are not as common  ( Pascal, M et. a;.  2023  & Jalal, R  NDEs and Transformation of Afterlife Beliefs,  2024).  These NDEs all have similar qualities across all different cultures, including those with spiritual, and, non-spiritual beliefs.  Both children and adults have similar reported experiences.  Profound changes in perspectives on life after death almost always occur. One interesting aftermath is a high  divorce rate, up to 75%,  due to new conflicts with a spouse’s perspectives ( Greyson, B  1998  & Shlobin, N  2023).  All of this evidence suggests the presence of a form of transformative consciousness occuring after physical signs of death ( Noble, P et. al  2024).

The Pathophysiology of Death & Near Death.

It may sound strange, but death is actually beneficial and a necessary quality of the life force to maintain balance and homeostasis of the whole of the ecosystem of the Earth as well as our individual bodies.  Every day of our life wiithin our bodies,  the “death quality of the life force” is actively removing and recycling damaged parts of individual cells and  killing & recycling damaged cells that  are beyond maintance.  There are at least 19 different forms of cellular death initiation with cell suicide (apoptosis) being the  dominant form of self programed death for the benefit of the whole of the body  (Park, W  2023).  The final common death pathways usually involve the failure and dysregulation of  four organelles within the cell – mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum / golgi body, & lysosomes.   Specifically, brain neuron cells experiencing no blood flow ( ischemia) and no oxygen supply (hypoxia),  suffer an energy crisis, resulting in a disasterous failure of calcium pumps and dramatic influx of calcium ions within these sub cellular organelles.  This activates destructive enzymes like proteases, capases and phospholipases that destroy intracellular structure,  generating  reactive oxygen species  that carry free electrons.  This further accelerates intracellular damage as well as the the energy crisis  in a visious cycle, like a “bull in a china closet” resulting in cell rupture and death  (Park, W et. al.  2023 & Shlobin, N  et. al. 2023). If the hypoxia and ischemia is not corrected, this process accelerates, the damage becomes irreversable, death spreads, and the physical body dies.  The decay and recycling of all  of its  components then begins.

However, along with the above death cascade occuring, a protective life cascade is also simultaneously launched which can facilitate recovery from near death. This  begins with  instant and dramatic changes in the brain’s electromagnetic signalling.  Both NDEs and DMT psychedelic trips quickly create very similar  resonant brain oscillations occuring at delta,  theta, gamma and even hypergamma EEG frequencies. This is accompanied by a silencing of the alpha frequencies ( Brogaard, B  2024; Timmermann C. 2023;  Xu, G  et. al.  2023;  Machado, C 2024).  The psychedelic effects reported by DMT users and those experiencing NDEs with these same documented induced brain wave patterns are nearly identical.  The responses to NDE  and DMT post experience,  subjective questionaires, showed a high degree of crossover (Taylor, S, 2018).  The main difference is that the DMT users do not experience the “point of no return” threshold, or the life review commonly reported in NDEs ( Pascal, M , 2023) . 

Our Tryptaminergic Intervention At Life’s Boundary With Death.

N, N dimethyltryptamine (DMT) , our body’s naturally occuring psychedelic molecule,  has been documented to immediately surge at least 10 times above baselines in  the cerebral cortex of animals after cardiac arrest  in near death experiments (Dean, J et al , 2019 ).  DMT is synthesized  within multiple tissues  of our body from tryptophan, an essential amino acid obtained through our diet. We all carry it and manufacture it. 

 It’s main role appears to be the inducable release and metabolic surges providing cellular adaptation and protection  against severe environmental challenges, like Near Death Experiences  (NDEs) or even with extreme prolonged physical exertion in adverse environments as in my personal experience above. Fasting, psychotropic breathwork,  deep meditation, isolation &  sensory deprivation,  can also trigger surges of DMT.  Normally DMT’s baseline production is metabolically tightly regulated in normal oxygenated states. Within the brain, it is mainly produced and stored within pyramidal cell neocortex neurons called D neurons that  are widely interconnected and produce  only DMT as their neurotransmitter ( Shimmelpfennig, J  et. al , 2024;  Dean, J et al , 2019).  Sudden excitation of these  D neurons in response to hypoxia  and ischemia and subsequent release of their stored DMT,  are likely the source of DMT’s natural surges during NDEs . These DMT surges are also accompanied by a sudden blocking of DMT’s main  deactivating metabolic enzyme , monoamine oxidase  (MAO),  as well as  the rapid activation of DMT’s main synthesis enzyme, indolamine N methyl transferase ( INMT ) in response to low oxygen tensions  and acid /base pH changes  ( Shimmelpfennig, J  et. al , 2024 ).   The net result  of all of these metabolic changes is a sudden rise in global DMT concentrations throughout the body, but especially within the brain during an NDE. This is referred to as an “endohuasca experience” because it involves the same internally generated biochemical actions as externally drinking an Ayahuasca tea.

The exact biomolecular actions of DMT within individual neurons  to provide a psychedelic experience, neuro protection  and brain neuropasticity and “rewiring” during and after a NDE or an ayahuasca ceremony session is complex, and a frontier of current scientific explorations.  The discovery of DMT’s near exclusive ability to stimulate a uniquely located intracellular form of the serotonin 2A receptor subtype, closely  associated with intracellular microtubule  resonance, may explain some of the physical effects of the observed brain rewiring and profound neuroplastic effects occuring within the brain following an  NDE.  It may offer a partial physical explaination of why many, if not most,  report profound changes in the way they percieve this reality in the immediate and longterm NDE aftermath.  In addition,  DMT’s activation and mobilization of a cellular protective polypeptide (Sigma 1),  may provide some insight on the mechanism of neuroprotection and cellular defense.   The adverse threats for individual cells during an NDE begin as the transmembrane ion channels become unstable and incompetant.  DMT quickly mobilizes Sigma 1 into these areas of the cell,  creating more stability.   DMT’s ’s  quantum biological & electromagnetic effects on immediate intracellular as well as longterm changes in extracellular neuron signalling are now begining to be  explored.  ( Please see new referenced post on “DMT: Our Body’s Natural Psychedelic” on this site for greater details on all of this).

So Why Did  Nature Evolve the need for a Psychedelic Experience at the Transition From Life To Death?

The neuroprotective features of the “DMT death surge” and “DMT extreme body stress surges” from a western medicine scientific perspective seem  totally rational from an evolutionary “failsafe”, adaptation  standpoint.  The life force has evloved and created  a back-up system of protection for the organism, just in case your physiology was just experiencing  something very extreme, but brief.   The body is providing a mechanism to minimize permanent damage from something that you might recover from.  And, maybe even offer the bonus of a future sociological selection advantage for the individual because of subsequent “rewiring” and lifestyle changes.

But the simultaneous psychedelic aspect of the NDE is mysterious.  How is this helpful if death of the body is just the “dead end” of your consciousness?  Why have a life review from the others perspective of significant moments?  Why entities with teachings?  Why visions of heavenly natural realms just beyond reach?  Why the desire to not return to the physical state? Why out of body experiences that allow you to pass through solid objects like maybe a ghost or a spirit would ?  Why is the emotion of love over fear almost universally felt so overwhealmingly?  

Are NDEs just the random firings of the neurons of a dying brain?  I don’t think so. NDEs are too consistant, directed and organized for that to be the case.    Are other natural psychedelics released during NDEs besides DMT?  It is thought that glutamate and endorphins may also be involved to varying degrees, but DMT appears to be the main player.  How about the result of anesthetics (ketamine) or resusitative drugs as the cause of these NDEs?  It’s posssible, but similar NDEs occur with and without drugs on board.  In fact, the presence of psychoactive drugs on board at the time of an NDE  like morphine, may decrease the incidence of reported NDEs in these individuals  ( Shlobin, N et. al.  2023 ;  Lammers, W,   “Hospice  When Death is Near” 2024; Novas, A, 2024).

I believe that these increasing NDE reports  are part of a new way of knowing that there are other dimensions of existince beyond this reality. The psychedelic part is consistant with the known laws of flow, pulse, balance, and interconnectedness  that exist within the life force that mitigate the shock of  transitions , not just of your physiology , but also of your consciousness. These  reports and experiences have become more possible and common because of our medical science  and technology advancements, and not specifically from religious teachings in a church. This has become an unexpected  result and revelation from the scientific method in medicine that has prompted great advances in our rususitation technology and success.  As the scientific method and knowledge began to accelerate in the 1500 & 1600s in Europe, healers and scientists became fearful of persecution by religious organizations who saw the scientific method  and new discoveries as heresy.  This created a rift between science and spirituality within the field of medicine for many centuries and scientific fundamentalism was born.   However the NDEs are consistant with the mystical teachings of almost all religions and indiginenous spiritual beliefs.   NDEs are real, mystical, powerful, often liberating, and can provide positive life changes for many who have endured them. Their reports are arriving now, facilitated by science,  to boost a much needed healing of the of an old wound that has seperated medical science from spirituality.