Oct 11, 2024

Spotlight: Ketamine, “Quantum Psychiatry”, Consciousness

On Ketamine Near-Death Experiences, Near-Birth Experiences, The Quantum Mind, and Death-Rebirth Psychotherapy and the Nature of Consciousness

"The review progresses through several sections: a historical narrative of NC theories from ancient to modern times, including definitions and visual timelines; an exploration of major NC theories spanning quantum mechanics, field consciousness, panpsychism, dual-aspect monism, and parapsychological perspectives; a comparative analysis identifying commonalities, differences, and empirical robustness; the empirical implications and potential research methods, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary collaboration; and philosophical and societal implications of embracing NC. The conclusion synthesizes key findings and reflects on the broader implications and future potential of NC research in advancing our understanding of consciousness."

New 2026: From the journal Innovation in April 2026: Quantum evidence of nonlocal consciousness during clinical death (2026) "If consciousness can operate under quantum principles, then the boundaries between life, death, and cognition are far more permeable than current science allows... NDEs positively correlated with neuroplasticity during Cardiac Arrest. Biomarker models explained up to 56.8% of the variance in recall. These findings compel a radical rethinking of clinical death: consciousness may persist—quantum-bound, detectable, and not yet defeated.

Certain anesthetics and psychoactive agents, especially ketamine—a
dissociative NMDA antagonist—are well-documented to induce phenomenological states that closely mimic spontaneous NDEs. These include out-of-body experiences, time distortion, depersonalization, and profound tranquility or transcendence.104–106 A large-scale semantic analysis of subjective reports has confirmed that ketamine-induced states are more similar to NDEs than those associated with serotonergic psychedelics.105 These similarities support the hypothesis that shared neurochemical mechanisms—such as transient NMDA receptor blockade and glutamatergic dysregulation under extreme stress—may underpin NDEs. One speculation is that the dying brain might endogenously release ketamine-like compounds or enter a disinhibited cortical state, temporarily supporting heightened internal awareness. These findings reintroduce anesthesiology into broader debates on the neural correlates of consciousness, including theories that embrace non-classical processes such as quantum brain dynamics. Notably, our study found correlations between verified quantum entanglement effects and conscious recall, lending empirical support to theoretical models—such as the Hameroff and Penrose (2014) theory 57—that attempt to explain how awareness might emerge under otherwise suppressive conditions."

(2024): "By demonstrating that drugs affecting microtubules within neurons delay the onset of unconsciousness caused by anesthetic gases, the study supports the quantum model over traditional classical physics theories. This quantum perspective could revolutionize our understanding of consciousness and its broader implications, potentially impacting the treatment of mental illnesses and our understanding of human connection to the universe."

"This revised infographic presents a consciousness-first model inspired by Federico Faggin, explicitly distinguishing between **ontology** (*what is fundamentally real*) and **phenomenology** (*what is directly lived*). In this framing, consciousness is primary, irreducible and foundational—the field within which all experience arises. Spirit is depicted not as a separate entity, but as the intrinsic qualitative dimension of consciousness itself: meaning, value, unity, aliveness and love. Mind, Heart, and Body then emerge as differentiated yet deeply interconnected expressive interfaces operating within consciousness." https://youtu.be/cXlxCOoNZ7E

Karl Jansen on ketamine in (1999): "to improve our understanding of psychedelic experience we may need to reconsider some of the material which has been dismissed as hallucinations, psychosis, suggestibility, stupidity and fraud. Hallucination is only another descriptive term - it doesn't really explain anything. 'Quantum' based explanations for certain mental states have started to appear, and we should be wary of dismissing these new theories out of hand."

Ketamine-induced re-organisation of neural oscillations across health, MDD, and TRD: A systematic review of magnetoencephalography insights (2026)

By transiently blocking NMDA receptors, particularly on inhibitory interneurons, KT induces a surge in glutamatergic neurotransmission and consequent AMPA receptor stimulation, thereby activating downstream signaling cascades, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor release and mammalian target of rapamycin pathway activation (Zanos and Gould, 2018; Matveychuk et al., 2020). These changes facilitate synaptic plasticity and synaptogenesis, mechanisms hypothesized to underlie KT's rapid antidepressant efficacy (Krystal et al., 2024). Clinically, numerous trials have confirmed KT's remarkable therapeutic potency in TRD, with significantly higher response rates than placebo observed as early as 24 h post-infusion (Singh et al., 2016; Phillips et al., 2019; McIntyre et al., 2021). To address KT's transient efficacy, which typically peaks within a week, repeated-dose strategies and related derivatives, such as intranasal esketamine (approved by the FDA in 2019 for TRD), have been developed, reflecting a broader acceptance of glutamate-based interventions in psychiatric practice (Krystal et al., 2024). Consequently, KT has become a prototypical agent representing a new paradigm in antidepressant therapy, bridging fundamental neuroscience with promising clinical outcomes.

Pair with Jansen's book "Ketamine Dreams & Realities", in which he interviews the brilliant John C. Lilly.