This is your brain on Ego Death

We have previously summarized and linked to some of the most promising frameworks for understanding the mechanisms of action of psychedelics at the network-level. Yet the role of neurotransmitters in the process of ego dissolution (or ego death) is still relatively understudied. Psychedelic Science Review recently published an interesting article exploring the role of glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Of note, they point towards a decrease in glutamate activity in areas associated with memory retrieval, suggesting that a decreased ability to access self-referential information stored in different parts of the brain may be involved in the experience of ego dissolution.