Translated from our German original by AI. The German text was researched, written, and edited by the Psychedelia Foundation team and remains the authoritative version.
Researchers have for the first time directly compared the neural and subjective features of a nondual meditation with the effects of the psychedelic 5-methoxy-DMT (5-MeO-DMT). The basis is a controlled single-case study with an advanced meditator and lama of the Mahāmudrā tradition.
The participant completed a traditional nondual meditation as well as sessions with placebo and with two doses of 5-MeO-DMT (5 and 12 milligrams). During these, the research team recorded brain activity using high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG), along with psychometric data and phenomenological reports.
Comparing the nondual meditation with the low dose of 5-MeO-DMT revealed both similarities and differences. According to the participant, both states were characterized by an altered sense of time, less conceptual categorisation of sensory impressions, and an attenuation of the narrative self and of the flow of thought. The hdEEG data also showed overlaps: both conditions were accompanied by increased alpha power and reduced gamma power. A decoding analysis of the brain data additionally found significant neural overlap, attributable mainly to reduced gamma activity in posterior and right frontal brain regions.
At the same time, the two states differed. The nondual meditation was marked in particular by the experience of nonduality and mental clarity. Under the low dose of 5-MeO-DMT, by contrast, the participant reported visual imagery more often. The high dose (12 milligrams) led to a qualitatively different experience, with sensory disconnection, the perception of a “white light”, and broadly increased gamma power in the EEG.
On the basis of the hdEEG findings, the authors propose two distinct routes to self-dissolution, or to approaching a largely content-free state of consciousness. A “subtractive” route, observed in the nondual meditation and under the low dose of 5-MeO-DMT, is associated with reduced neural activity, lower entropy of the brain signals, a marked reduction in conceptual processing, and greater equanimity. Against this stands a “saturation” route, as it occurred under the high dose of 5-MeO-DMT. This one is characterized by increased gamma activity, higher entropy of the brain signals, and experiences of vastness, white light, and sensory disconnection.
The researchers stress that the overlaps observed could indicate that low doses of 5-MeO-DMT represent a complement to meditative practice. They see in this a possible starting point for further work on consciousness research and potential clinical applications. As a next step they propose studies examining nondual meditation under a low dose of 5-MeO-DMT. Because this is a single-case study, however, the findings cannot readily be transferred to other people.
