Near-death experience: Difference between revisions

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:''"Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried. And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world."'' (from Plato, The Republic)
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The Near-Death Experience, known as an NDE, is an experience that dates back to the time of Plato when he wrote the Myth of Er.<ref name="urlMyth of Er (Plato, Republic X)">{{cite web
'''Near-death experience''' (NDE) is the common name for feelings, impressions and out-of-body experiences, reported especially by people who appear to have died but revived.<ref>Blackmore SJ (1996) [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1295660/?tool=pubmed Near-death experiences] ''J R Soc Med'' 89:73-6. Review. PMID 8683504</ref>
 
Such reports date back to the time of [[Plato]] who wrote about the ''Myth of Er''.<ref name="urlMyth of Er (Plato, Republic X)">{{cite web
|url=http://www.davidson.edu/academic/classics/neumann/CLA350/ErMyth.html
|url=http://www.davidson.edu/academic/classics/neumann/CLA350/ErMyth.html
|title=Myth of Er (Plato, Republic X)
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}}</ref>Researchers[[ Raymond Moody]], [[Elisabeth Kübler-Ross]], [[Bruce Greyson]], [[Kenneth Ring]], and[[ Michael Sabom]] have all researched and wrote about this subject. Greyson, Ring and Saborn helped start the field of Near-Death studies In the strictest sense an NDE occurs when someone is near death or has died. Both adults and children report similar NDE experiences.<ref name="urlNear-death experiences in a pediatric population. ... [Am J Dis Child. 1985] - PubMed result">{{cite web
}}</ref>, but the term  ''near-death experience'' was coined by a psychologist, Raymond Moody, in his book, ''Life after Life'', first published in 1975.<ref>Raymond Moody (2001) ''Life After Life: the investigation of a phenomenon – survival of bodily death'', San Francisco, CA: Harper SanFrancisco ISBN 0-06251739-2</ref> The book was a compilation of the experiences reported by more than 100 people who came close to death. Moody believes in an afterlife, and regards these reports as possible supporting evidence for this, while recognising that there are other explanations. Generally however, scientists consider that NDEs arise from the disordered activity of a brain under extreme stress that is interpreted in a way conditioned by expectations. <ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15494379 Near-death experience 'all in the mind'] 'BBC News'' 31 October 2011</ref>
|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4003364
 
|title=Near-death experiences in a pediatric population. ... [Am J Dis Child. 1985] - PubMed result
In a later book, Moody  wrote: “By the classical definition, death is the state from which you don't return. It is defined as irreversible. Hence, since all of the NDEers returned, they were never really dead. What happened was that various criteria for death were fufilled" <ref name=Moody>{{cite book | author = Perry, Paul; Moody, Raymond A | title = The Light Beyond |  publisher = Bantam Books | location = New York | year = 1988 | isbn = 0-553-05285-3 }}</ref> <ref>[http://www.neurology.org/content/74/23/1911.full.pdf+html Eelco FM ''et al.''] (2010) Evidence-based guideline update:  Determining brain death in adults: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology ''Neurology'' 74:1911></ref> Both adults and children report similar NDE experiences.<ref>Morse M ''et al.'' (1985) Near-death experiences in a pediatric population ''Am J Dis Child''139:595-600 PMID 4003364</ref>
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Similar experiences have been reported by others, including when someone is participating in meditation, under emotional duress or at the bedside of a dying loved one.
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== Did the NDE experiencer really die?==
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The immediate reactions to Moody's book were very polarised; some embraced the reports as endorsing their belief in an afterlife, others dismissed the reports as hallucinatory delusions or mere inventions. Moody's book was simply a compilation of anecdotes. However, other researchers since then have consistently found that NDEs are a relatively common occurrence, and follow a quite consistent narrative form in many different cultures and in historical accounts. This suggests that NDEs share a common neurological basis, and various theories have been proposed, for example, that neuronal dysfunction due to anoxia and/or carbon dioxide overload leads to a sequence of disordered brain activity that is subsequently interpreted as an "experience" in a way conditioned by expectations.<ref>Blackmore SJ (1996) [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1295660/?tool=pubmed Near-death experiences] ''J R Soc Med'' 89:73-6. Review. PMID 8683504</ref>
Similar experiences have been reported by others, who had not died, but NDE researchers do not consider them true NDEs. These experiences may occur when someone is participating in meditation, under emotional duress or at the bedside of a dying loved one. NDE researchers are studying this phenomena as part of their NDE research.<ref name="urlwww.iands.org">{{cite web
 
|url=http://www.iands.org/downloads/generaliands.pdf
Even if the NDE has a relatively prosaic explanation, the impact of an NDE on the lives of those who have experienced one is often considerable. There are many accounts of an NDE changing a person's values, making them less afraid of death, more religious and less materialistic. Conversely, an NDE apparently led [[Hong Xiuquan]] to believe that he was the brother of [[Jesus Christ]], and he went on to lead a rebellion that claimed at least 20 million lives. <ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7051/is_n1_v8/ai_n28700065/ God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan]</ref>
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== Scales ==
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In 1980, [[psychologist]] Kenneth Ring developed a ''10 point interview scale'', which he used to interview 102 people who had come close to death. The interview using the scale determined that 48% of Ring's group had had an NDE. Using this information he developed the ''Weighted Core Experience Index''. <ref name="isbn1-4019-0710-5">{{cite book | author = Parnia S| title = What happens when we die: a groundbreaking study into the nature of life and death | publisher = Hay House | location = Carlsbad, CA | year = 2006 | isbn = 1-4019-0710-5}}</ref> This index asked about whether the NDE was peaceful; involved an Out-of-Body Experience (OBE); tunnel or dark area; saw a light; entered the light.
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The ''Greyson Scale'' was developed by [[psychiatrist]] Bruce Greyson after he interviewed 74 people who reported an NDE. <ref>Greyson B (2003) Near-death experiences in a psychiatric outpatient clinic population ''Psychiatr Serv'' 54:1649-51 PMID 14645808</ref>
<ref>Greyson B (2010) Hypercapnia and hypokalemia in near-death experiences ''Crit Care'' 14:420 PMID 20519028 </ref><ref>Griffith LJ (2009) Near-death experiences and psychotherapy ''Psychiatry (Edgmont)'' 6:35-42 PMID 20011577</ref> He used the 16 most frequently reported features to develop his questionaire, which sought to establish whether there had been: an experience of altered time; accelerated thought process; a life review; a sense of sudden understanding; feelings of peace/joy/'cosmic oneness'; seeing or feeling the surrounding of light; reporting vivid sensations; [[extrasensory perception]] (ESP); experiencing visions; an OBE; a sense being in an 'otherworldly environment', of a mystical entity; of deceased or religious figures; or of a 'border' or point of no return. Each question is rated 0, 1 or 2. The potential maximum score was 32 and a score of 7 was needed to qualify for having an NDE. <ref name="isbn1-4019-0710-5"/> There are variances between adults and children in what they may experience and describe concerning the NDE. Cultural variations concerning NDEs have also been reported.
 
== Incidence==
In  ''The Light Beyond'', Moody explained that people often reported the following:
 
#a "sense of peace and painlessness”.  Cardiac patients, according to Moody, report the intense pain of a heart attack turns into pleasure.
# an "Out-of-Body Experience" (OBE): Moody reports his study subjects described seeing their body below while retaining a “body” of some sort they can not describe.
# a tunnel.  “The descriptions are many, but the sense of what is happening remains the same: the person is going through a passageway toward an intense light” .
#'People of Light', that glow with intense luminescence that fills the person with love.  The light is described as being much brighter than anything found on earth while not hurting the eyes. The person under-going this experience may see friends and relatives who have died.
#Being of Light: The NDE witness will report seeing a holy supreme being of light. When meeting this holy being the person wants to remain but is told by the being of light to return to their earthly body.
#Life Review: “The closest description I've heard of it is that the whole person's life is there at once,” writes Moody. Moody states the NDE experiencer comes away from the experience realizing the most important things in life are love followed by knowledge.
#Return: NDE experiencers want to remain in the heavenly place and often experience short-term anger when they are brought back from death states.
 
In 1982, a [[Gallup poll]] survey in the [[United States of America]], where most people believe in an afterlife, estimated that approximately 8 million people had had an NDE.<ref name="isbn1-4019-0710-5"/> Of those, 26% described an OBE; 23% felt that they had experienced accurate visual perception; 17% heard sounds or voices; 32% feelings of peace or painlessness ; 14% saw light phenomena; 32% described having a life review ;32% being in another world ;23% encountering other beings; 9% described a tunnel experience; and 6% described a sense of precognition .
 
In 2011, the journal ''Trends in Cognitive Sciences'' published a paper entitled 'There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them'. The paper, by neuroscientists Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt, summarised the results of various scientific studies of NDEs.  
<ref>Mobbs D, Watt C (2011) There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them ''Trends in Cognitive Sci'' 15:447-9</ref>
 
A commonly reported features of NDEs is an awareness of being dead - but these feelings are not limited to NDEs. A condition called "Cotard" - or "walking corpse" syndrome, where a person believes they are dead, has been seen after trauma and during the advanced stages of typhoid and multiple sclerosis.<ref>McKay RL, Cipolotti L (2007) Attributional style in a case of Cotard delusion. ''Conscious Cogn'' (2007) 16:349–59</ref> Out-of-body experiences can be artificially induced by stimulating the right temporoparietal junction in the brain, an area that has a role in perception and awareness.<ref>Blanke O. Arzy S (2004) The out-of-body experience: disturbed self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction ''Neuroscientist''  11:16–24</ref> The "tunnel of light" sensation can also be artificially induced: pilots flying at G-force can experience "hypertensive syncope" which causes tunnel-like vision for up to eight seconds <ref> Lambert EH, Wood EH (1946) Direct determination of man's blood pressure on the human centrifuge during positive acceleration ''Federation Proc'' 5:59</ref>, and one study suggests that the light at the end of the tunnel is explained by poor blood and oxygen supply to the eye.<ref>  Nelson KR ''et al.'' (2007) Out-of-body experience and arousal. ''Neurology''  68:794–5</ref> The feelings of bliss and euphoria, meanwhile, can be recreated with drugs such as ketamine and amphetamine.
 
== Non-Western experiences ==
<blockquote>"I died, as you know. I seemed to leave my body and stand beside it, looking down on what was me. The me that was standing there looked like the form I was looking at, only, I was alive and the other was dead. I gazed at my body for a few minutes, then turned and walked away. I left the house and village, and walked on and on to the next village, and there I found crowds of people,—Oh, so many people! The place which I knew as a small village of a few houses was a very large place, with hundreds of houses and thousands of men, women, and children. Some of them I knew and they spoke to me,—although that seemed strange, for I knew they were dead,—but nearly all were strangers. They were all so happy! They seemed not to have a care; nothing to trouble them. Joy was in every face, and happy laughter and bright, loving words were on every tongue." From ''Hawaiian Folk Tales'' (1907) <ref name=Handbook>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18450/18450-h/18450-h.htm#d0e946 ''Hawaiian Folk Tales''] (1907) Ed Thomas G. Thrum Project Gutenberg</ref></blockquote>
''The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences'' summarises reports collated in 16 refereed journal articles describing more than 275  non-Western NDEs, gathered since 2005. Experiences from Asia, Pacific area and hunter-gatherer cultures, and show many similarities .<ref name=Handbook/>
<!---
'''China'''
 
Based on the historical work of Carl Becker and the empirical work by Fen Zhi-ying and Liu Jian-xun the following information was collected. Becker interviewed three Chinese Buddhist monks who were seriously ill and either had a NDE or or deathbed vision. No tunnel of light was reported by the monks although one did report “going through a void”. None reported an OBE or life review; all three reported visiting the “pure land.”
 
Medical doctors Zhi-ying and Jian-xun interviewed 81 survivors of the [[Tangshan earthquake]]. They found 32 NDE experiencers who reported most of the similar experiences found in Western NDE studies. The Chinese earthquake survivors reported OBEs, the tunnel experience, peace, life reviews, seeing deceased beings and seeing an unearthly realm of existence.
 
'''India'''
 
K. Osis and E. Haraldson interviewed 704 Indian medical personnel in 1977. The interviews dealt with their experiences with the dying. The interviews showed that 64 participants reported an NDE while the rest reported near-death visions. Satwant Pasrich and (first name unknown) Stephenson in 1986 reported 16 cases of NDE in India. Of the 16 reports, 10 of the reporting witnesses were directly interviewed. By 1993, a total of 45 cases were reviewed. The researchers found no evidence of tunnel of light and one person reported an OBE. <ref name=Handbook/>
 
'''Thailand'''
 
Researcher Todd Murphy in 2001 collected 10 published NDE accounts. There was one report of an OBE but Murphy believed the Yamtoots, guides of the underworld, served the this function. No tunnel or tunnel-like experiences were reported by Murphy other than the one case reported. He wrote “tunnels are rare, if not absent, in Thai NDEs.” <ref name=Handbook/>
 
 
'''New Zealand'''
 
Researcher Michael King reported in 1985 the report of a Maori woman who died and reported hovering over her body. She later ascended to a ledge and looked at the entrance of the underworld. She performed a dance in preparation of entering the underworld. As she prepared to enter, a voice told her it was not her time and she returned to her body. <ref name=Handbook/>--->
 
==Children==
[[Pediatrician]] [[Melvin Morse]] became interested in NDEs after one of his patients told about her NDE. She was [[resuscitate]]d after nearly [[drown]]ing. Katie spent three days near the brink of death and was kept in a deep coma. On the third day she awoke as if from a deep sleep and by the next day was visiting with family. She showed no signs of [[brain]] damage. Morse interviewed the girl about what she remembered from the experience and was told about her visit to heaven. Morse reports a person actually needs to be near death to have a near-death experience. He also reports the ara in the brain near the right temporal lobe is genetically coded for near-death experiences, forward to the book ''Closer to the Light''. <ref name=Perry>{{cite book | author = Perry P; Morse M| title = Closer to the light: learning from children's near-death experiences | publisher = Villard Books | location = New York | year = 1990 | isbn = 0-394-57944-5}}</ref>
 
Morse created the [[Seattle Study]] to determine if someone needed to be near death in order to have an NDE. The control group of 121 seriously ill children had a less than five percent chance of dying but were ill. Morse interviewed children based on the psychological experience of being in an intensive care unit with no mention of NDEs. Interviews lasted approximately two hours and asked questions such as what the patient remembered while being sick, dreams and hospital experiences.  118 of the children who were seriously ill, but not close to death,  did not remember their hospital experience.
 
The experimental group, the cardiac survivors or ones who awoke from deep comas, most of the children did report at least one feature of the NDE. Morse states the child would often start telling of their experience with a puzzled look. He gave the example of “Well, I kind of remember a really funny thing that I can't exactly telly. I was looking at myself and going somewhere, but I didn't exactly know where,” p. 23 ''Closer to the Light''. Morse said the children would go onto tell about their NDE. Some of the children were not affected by the experience while others were profoundly affected. <ref name=Perry/>
 
 
<!---===Children's reports===
Here is a small selection of reports collected by Morse '' Closer to the Light''.
 
Patient Two related this story after under-going cardiac surgery at the age of 10. “I have a wonderful secret to tell you Mother. I've been climbing the staircase to heaven. It was such a good and peaceful feeling. I felt wonderful. I was on a staircase, and it was dark, and I started climbing upward. I got about halfway up the staircase and decided not to go any higher. I wanted to go on up, but I knew I wouldn't come back if I went too high. That would hurt my mom and dad; since my little brother had already died, they wouldn't have anyone to take care of”. He returned to his body by turning and going down the staircase.
 
Patient Five nearly drowned when her hair was caught in a pool drain. She went onto to relate the following story: “All I remember was my hair getting stuck in the drain and then blacking out. The next thing I knew, I floated out of my body. I could see myself under the water but I wasn't afraid. All of a sudden I started going up a tunnel and before I could think about it, I found myself in heaven. I know it was heaven because everything was bright and everyone was cheerful. 'A nice young man asked me if I wanted to stay there. I thought about staying; I really did. But I said 'I want to be with my family'. Then I got to come back,” <ref name=Perry/>
 
In ''The Light Beyond'' Moody gives several examples of children who experienced NDEs. While a resident at a Georgia hospital Moody discovered a nine-year-old boy, who he called Sam, who told him about how he nearly died the previous year from a cardiac arrest. Moody writes that Sam told him about he floated out of his body and watched his doctor perform CPR to restart his heart. Sam then reported that he began to move rapidly away from the earth and towards a dark tunnel. He passed through the tunnel where he was met by a group of “angels”. He told Dr. Moody the angels did not have wings but described them as glowing. He described the place as filled with light and saw beautiful pastoral scenes encircled by a fence. The angels said if he went past the fence he would not be able to return to life. He then encountered a being of light who (Sam told Moody this was God) who told him he had to return to his body<ref name=Moody/>
 
The NDE is similar between adults and children. Children though typically report being accompanied by someone when they enter the light while adults usually do not report this experience. Children may also describe being accompanied by a deceased family pet during an NDE <refname=Handbook/>
 
Of note, preverbal and nonverbal children may indicate they witnessed the tunnel during the NDE<ref name=Handbook/>.  This information was discovered after observing how some children became fearful of tunnel-like objects. One child who experienced this fear of tunnels later asked if her grandmother would have to go through the tunnel found at a grocery store so she could see God.
 
Adults, who report childhood NDEs later in life, are reliable and not distorted or changed to fit cultural or social expectations<ref name=Handbook/>. Moody states the NDEs of children give better evidence for an afterlife as they have been less influenced by cultural material.
 
== Veridical  NDE==
The ''apparently nonphysical veridical NDE perception'' (AVP) is when the NDE experiencer either through the current condition of the NVP or position of their body during their experience could not have been caused by normal sensory processes. One of the best documented cases of AVP concerns Pam Reynolds who underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm. Neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler performed a “hypothermic cardiac arrest” during surgery to repair the aneurysm. Below is a paraphrased summation of the report filed by Spetzler. <ref name= Handbook/>.
 
At 7:15 a.m. Reynolds is brought into the operating room in a conscious state, she is then given intravenous petnathol, whereupon she reported a 'loss of time'. Her eyes were taped shut and general anesthesia was administered. Monitoring devices were then instrumented to her including EEG electrodes to her head. Small speakers were molded to and inserted in both of her ears to emit a 95 decibel clicking sound that would register on a monitor of her brainstem. By 8:40 a.m. an incision was made into her scalp and a section of her skull was removed. It was determined the hypothermic cardiac procedure would be performed due to the size of the aneurysm. By 10:50 a.m. The blood cooling and cardiopulmonary bypass was underway. At 11 a.m. Reynold's core body temperature was 73 degrees F. At 11:25 a.m. Her core body temperature was 60 degrees and “the clicks from the ear speakers no longer elicited a response” <ref name=Handbook/>. The aneurysm was repaired and the process of restoring normal body functions began.  At 12 noon, the heart monitor showed ventricular defibirilation and two defibrilation shocks were administered. Her heart beat normally. By 12:32 p.m. Her body temperature registered 89.6 degrees and the monitoring equipment was removed. She was taken to the recovery room in stable condition at 2:10 p.m.
 
Reynolds reported hearing the cranial saw after the pentathol was administered. As a musician, she was able to determine that she saw a natural D tone emitted and that sound pulled her out through the top of her head. Reynolds claimed a greater sense of awareness and enhanced vision. She also 'observed' surgical procedures such as the tools used to operate and observed the way her head was shaved. She also encountered deceased loved ones including an uncle “giving her a push back” to help her enter her body. Reynolds said her reentry into her body felt like jumping into a pool of ice water.
 
== Hellish NDEs==
Key reported components of the hell-like NDE include seeing lifeless or threatening apparitions; barren or ugly landscapes; hearing threats, screams or perceiving silence; feeling a sense of danger or the possibility of violence including torture; a feeling of cold or temperature extremes and a sense of hell<ref name=Handbook/>.
 
A study conducted by Hubert Knoblauch, Ina Schmied and Bernt Schnetter involved 82 German participants, of these, 4% reported NDEs; 60% of the West German correspondents reported positive NDEs (or emotions) while 29% reported negative NDEs (or emotions), whereas the East German participants reported 40% positive and 60% negative experiences. “The authors concluded that not only the interpretation but 'also the very content of what is experienced...is culturally constructed.” <ref name=Handbook/>  


== When do NDEs occur?==
Montana State University Health Science Professor William Serdahely reported that 4 of 12 NDE experiencers considered the experience scary or frightening<ref name= Handbook/>. The scantiness of statistics concerning hellish NDEs may be based upon the lack of wanting to disclose this experience states medical social worker Kimberly Clark Sharp. She says people will call and start to discuss their negative experience and then change their mind. <ref name=Handbook/>
== Blind can "see" during an NDE ==
Morse writes about Vicki Umipeg who developed blindness as a premature baby. Umipeg had her first NDE during an appendectomy at the age of 12, and experienced a very typical NDE despite her blindness. She reported "seeing" Jesus, as a man with woolly hair who told her to be kind and show others how to be kind. As an adult she had a second classic NDE after an auto accident. During this she reported that she had an OBE, reported travelling through a tunnel, seeing deceased relatives and friends and seeing Jesus, who instructed her not to not touch anyone nor to cross through the gate as it wasn't her time. She returned to her body through a tunnel with holes and saw people traveling along similar paths alongside her. She felt like she was being propelled along. During this experience she heard fanlike sounds, chimes and smelled the scent of jasmine. During this experience she received knowledge of all sorts. "...there was a brief time when knowledge came to her on most any topic; mathematics, science, astronomy, building, sewing....she would think it and the knowledge would come. She didn't bring the knowledge back with her, but she remembers having it. Jesus told her she must go back to have her children, and that someday she'd have all that knowledge again. She was told she had to go back to learn and teach about loving and forgiving, then she had a very intense life review and was returned."


NDEs occur once a person's [[heart]] function stops causing the blood supply to cut off to the brain. This usually takes between 11 to 20 seconds once the heart function ends. An [[electroencephalogram]] (EEG) reading taken during this time will show a flat [[brain]] waves. Retired [[Dutch]] [[cardiologist]] [[Pim van Lommel]] says when the body is in this state it is like a [[computer]] that is unplugged from its power source with its circuits detached. “It couldn't hallucinate. It couldn't do anything at all,” says Lommel in an interview with ''Time'' magazine. <ref name="urlAt the Hour Of Our Death - TIME">{{cite web
Morse writes Umipeg has never developed any light perception although she had some 'facial vision' but that has lessened after her auto accident. 'To 'see', has memories of things by touch, but in NDE's objects were "perceived from a distance" and felt "very eerie". She didn't see colors and doesn't know what 'colors' are, but saw different brilliances of light, and having never seen light, it was "almost appalling (to see light during her NDE.)'<ref name="urlVickys NDE">{{cite web | url = http://www.melvinmorse.com/e-blind.htm | title = Vicky's NDE | accessdate = 2011-02-27}}</ref>
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657919,00.html
|title=At the Hour Of Our Death - TIME
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Many NDE researchers believe this is the time period when NDEs are likely to occur. “"Many near-death experiencers describe heightened perceptions and clear thought processes, and form memories, at a time when the brain is incapable of coordinated activity," says Greyson, director of the University of Virginia's Division of Perceptual Studies. "Our current neurophysiological models can explain NDEs only if one ignores much of the empirical data,” he said during his interview with'' Time'' magazine.<ref name="urlAt the Hour Of Our Death - TIME">{{cite web
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== Commonly reported experiences ==
== Transformation ==
In general the NDE experience goes through the following steps:
Moody writes that all of the clinicians and scholars he has talked to, and who have interviewed NDE experiencers, said the experiencers were better people because of the NDE, p. 27 ''The Light Beyond''. He cites research done by Charles Flynn who found that NDE experiencers developed a greater concern for others after their experience. They also developed an increased belief in the afterlife and a lessened fear of death, p. 28 ''The Light Beyond''. “Loss of the fear of death was reported with the greatest frequency. NDErs have tended to attribute this loss to a new or strengthened belief in survival of bodily death,” <ref name=Handbook/>. While they retained their fear of dying their experience had lessened the fear of death itself.  They also developed a greater sense of spirituality  which was enhanced or new to the experiencer.  They may also report a greater sense of purpose in their life and many reported they were sent back to complete their work. Sometimes their mission was not clear, but the NDE experiencer felt there was need for their return and a mission to accomplish. Many of the NDE experiencers also reported a sense of being detached from their body or they felt imprisoned by their body.<ref name=Handbook/>  They also reported greater compassion and a desire to serve after their experience.


*Hearing the News
Patient One in Morse's book'' Closer to the Light'' states “I know one thing. I am not afraid to die. My near-death experience has made me more aware of life. It has kept me from being interested in drugs or driving around in cars and getting high like my friends do, “ p. 166.
*Feeling of peace and quiet
*The noise
*The dark tunnel
*Out-of-body experience
*Meetings others
*The Being of Light
*The Review
*The border or limitk<ref name="urlNDE General Info">{{cite web
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Another description of the NDE event is given in the'' Near-Death Experiences:  Is this what happens when we die''. In this report people who experienced an NDE detailed most of the experiences reported by Ring. <ref name="urlwww.iands.org">{{cite web
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===The Birth Tunnel experience===
Astronomer Carl Sagan proposed the NDE is a leftover birth memory. Sagan writes in  ''Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science'' every human being has the shared experience of birth to back up his theory.--->


Ring estimates 23 million Americans have had NDEs, and that no matter the cause of death or religious persuasion; people have neared biological [[death]], or died, have reported NDEs.<ref name="urlCONNECTICUT Q & A: KENNETH RING; You Never Recover Your Original Self - New York Times">{{cite web
== Near-Death-Like experiences that are not==
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/28/nyregion/connecticut-q-a-kenneth-ring-you-never-recover-your-original-self.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm
One view of NDEs is to include them in the large group of phenomena in which changes in the body seem related to mental or spiritual experiences. There are many of these, from mediation and fasting to ceremonial intoxicants to forty days in the wilderness. In any of them, the effects have been interpreted as anything from madness to divine inspiration. Morse <ref name= Moody/> rejects this view, and considers none of the following to be NDEs:
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== Negative experiences ==
*[[LSD]] – People who use this drug may feel like they've left their bodies. They also know they are not experiencing reality.
Not everyone reports NDEs as being pleasant. Greyson states some people report[[ hell]]ish experiences. A woodcutter, who attempted suicide by hanging, described hearing but not seeing demons. Some how he was able to alert his wife during his NDE experience who ran to her husband and cut him down. This all happened and was reported by him during his NDE experience. He was later revived by emergency personnel and lived to tell about his NDE.  Some researchers believe his cry for help was heard through [[telepathy]].<ref name="urlDistressing near-death experiences (ndes)">{{cite web
*[[Morphine]] and [[Heroin]] – People using these drugs usually do not perceive this experience as real, nor does it usually involve seeing the tunnel of light, seeing the light, or having visions of heaven.
|url=http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf083/sf083p15.htm
*Recreational drugs such as [[marijuana]], [[cocaine]], [[amphetamine]]s and [[barbituate]]s tend to cause paranoia, speech disturbances, loss of control of thought processes, poor memory, depression and fear, but not NDE-like experiences.
|title=Distressing near-death experiences (ndes)
*Anesthetic Agents – [[halothane]], [[surital]], [[nitrous oxide]], [[narcotic]]s, and [[nembutal]] do not cause hallucinations, although the patient may hear conversations while under the influence of one of these agents and become confused.  
|format=
*[[Ketamine]] – Another anesthetic agent no longer used. When used, patients reported frightening OBEs and they may have seen mirror images of themselves (autoscopic) when under the influence of this agent. Patients also know they are under the influence of drugs during this experience.  
|work=
*Transient Depersonalization – The person becomes emotionally detached from their bodies during a near-fatal experience. Morse  found no evidence of this in the children he interviewed after their NDE.
|accessdate=2011-01-11
<ref name= Moody/>
}}</ref>
Other experiences commonly reported moving towards the tunnel of light and other commonly reported features except the person felt out of control during the experience. Another experience reported includes being an absolute void. Some have also reported they felt like the world never existed. Finally, a rare form of NDE is when the person reports a negative life review and negatively judged.
Approximately 1 to 15 percent of people report negative NDEs.  <ref name="urlwww.iands.org">{{cite web
|url=http://www.iands.org/downloads/distressing.pdf
|title=www.iands.org
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>
A negative NDE is not based on the cause of death or religious background. Further research is planned.<ref name="urlwww.iands.org">{{cite web
|url=http://www.iands.org/downloads/distressing.pdf
|title=www.iands.org
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>


== NDE effects ==
== Causes of NDEs ==
Research has shown the NDE experience has long-term effects. People who have died and returned to report the NDE often change lifestyles. Women may become more outspoken while men may become emotionally in tune. Other effects may include learning to love universally, looking at time as flowing or “to flow with events.” Some people have reported developing psychic abilities such as extrasensory perception (ESP) after their NDE experience. <ref name="urlNDE General Info">{{cite web
NDEs seem to be relatively common in cardiac arrest patients after successful resuscitation, with an estimated incidence of 11 to 23%.<ref>Parnia S ''et al.'' (2007) Near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes of surviving cardiac arrest ''Resuscitation'' 74:215-21 Review. PMID 17416449 </ref>One prospective study of 52 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest reported that 11 had experienced an NDE, and that this was connected to higher initial partial pressures of end-tidal CO2, higher arterial blood CO2 levels, and previous NDEs. Higher serum levels of potassium might also play a role. During cardiac arrest, the end-tidal CO2 falls to very low levels, reflecting the very low cardiac output achieved with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.  CO2 levels affect the acid-base equilibrium in the brain, and this can provoke unusual experiences in the form of bright light, visions, and out-of-body experiences <ref>Klemenc-Ketis ''et al.'' (2010) The effect of carbon dioxide on near-death experiences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors: a prospective observational study ''Crit Care'' 14:R56 PMID 20377847 </ref>
|url=http://www.nderf.org/NDE%20General%20Info.htm
|title=NDE General Info
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>
Children may develop a lessening of the bonds between parent and child; increased sensitivity to others; increased service to others, increased interest in spirituality; communication with spirits (often called angels or guides by the child); sensitivity to bright lights, loud noises and medications; a strong desire to volunteer for charitable causes. Children who reported an NDE may also develop altered biological patterns such as sleep or attentiveness. Some may report synesthesia, increased intelligence,   and an increased ability to grasp abstract concepts.<ref name="urliands.org - Childrens Near-Death Experiences">{{cite web
|url=http://www.iands.org/nde_index/ndes/child.html#a3
|title=iands.org - Children's Near-Death Experiences
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>


== Reported mechanisms ==
In 2007, the ''New England Journal of Medicine'' published a report of a patient, in whom electrodes had been implanted to suppress tinnitus, who repeatedly experienced an out-of-body experience during stimulation of part of the superior temporal gyrus. [[Positron-emission tomography| Positron-emission tomographic]] scanning showed brain activation at specific brain sites following stimulation, and the authors suggested that the experience of disembodiment is mediated by coactivation of a small area at the junction of the angular and supramarginal gyrus, which affects vestibular–somatosensory integration of body orientation in space, and the posterior part of the superior temporal cortex, which is believed to be involved in processing an internal map of self-perception. They suggest that these same regions may be activated in patients who report disembodiment as part of an NDE.<ref>De Ridder D ''et al.'' (2007) Visualizing out-of-body experience in the brain ''N Engl J Med'' 357:1829-33 PMID 17978291</ref>
Not everyone agrees about what causes the reported NDE. Some believe the event is a peek into the the [[afterlife]] while others discount the experience as being caused by some form of artificial means discounting the afterlife aspect.


University of Montreal neuroscientist Mario Beauregard examined the brains of 15 people who reported near-death experiences. The participants relived their experiences while Beauregard completed the exam using [[electrodes]] and an isolation chamber. Beauregard noted there was a shift in their brain and the shift would allow these people to stay in touch with the spiritual world.<ref name="urlDecoding The Mystery Of Near-Death Experiences : NPR">{{cite web
Neuroscientist Mario Beauregard and colleagues measured brain activity (using [[functional magnetic resonance imaging]] (fMRI) and [[electroencephalography]] (EEG)) while they meditated; participants were asked to mentally visualize and emotionally connect with the "being of light" allegedly encountered during their "near-death experience". The meditative state was associated with hemodynamic and neuroelectric changes in brain regions known to be involved either in positive emotions, visual mental imagery, attention or spiritual experiences.<ref>Beauregard M ''et al.'' (2009) Brain activity in near-death experiencers during a meditative state ''Resuscitation'' 80:1006-10 PMID 19573975</ref>  
|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104397005
|title=Decoding The Mystery Of Near-Death Experiences : NPR
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>


Auckland pyschiatrist Karl Jansen attributes NDEs to “underlying mechanisms in more mysterious realms that cannot currently be described." He does attribute NDEs partly to neurochemistry and[[ psychology]]. <ref name="urlAt the Hour Of Our Death - TIME">{{cite web
Pyschiatrist Karl Jansen attributes NDEs to “underlying mechanisms in more mysterious realms that cannot currently be described." He attributes NDEs partly to neurochemistry and [[psychology]]. <ref name=TIME>{{cite web
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657919,00.html
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657919,00.html
|title=At the Hour Of Our Death - TIME
|title=At the Hour Of Our Death - TIME=|accessdate=2011-01-11}}</ref>  
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>  


[[Neurologist]] Kevin Nelson believes NDEs are not imagined but lie within the brain itself. He attributes NDEs to [[Rapid Eye Movement]] (REM) state. Nelson also believes the NDE bright light is caused by visual stimulation in the brain due to the REM. The tunnel is also caused by a decrease of blood flow to the[[eye]].<ref name="urlDoctor says near-death experiences are in the mind - Page 2 - CNN">{{cite web
[[Neurologist]] Kevin Nelson attributes NDEs to [[Rapid Eye Movement]] (REM) state, and believes that the NDE bright light is caused by visual stimulation in the brain due to the REM, while the 'tunnel' is caused by a decrease of blood flow to the[[eye]].<ref name="urlDoctor says near-death experiences are in the mind - Page 2 - CNN">{{cite web
|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-16/health/cheating.near.death_1_geraghty-cardiac-arrest-school-bus/2?_s=PM:HEALTH
|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-16/health/cheating.near.death_1_geraghty-cardiac-arrest-school-bus/2?_s=PM:HEALTH
|title=Doctor says near-death experiences are in the mind - Page 2 - CNN
|title=Doctor says near-death experiences are in the mind - Page 2 - CNN
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>
}}</ref> Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center similarly attributes NDEs to [[oxygen]] starvation in the brain.<ref name=TIME/>


Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, believes there is nothing mysterious about NDEs. He attributes NDEs to [[oxygen]] starvation in the brain.<ref name="urlAt the Hour Of Our Death - TIME">{{cite web
|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657919,00.html
|title=At the Hour Of Our Death - TIME
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2011-01-11
}}</ref>


== References==
Morse writes in  ''Closer to the Light'' that electrical stimulation of the right temporal lobe has caused patients to report 'seeing God'. He first came up with this theory after discussing NDEs with Art Ward who was the chairman of neurosurgery at the [[University of Washington]]. Ward recalled one patient who experienced every trait of the NDE experience after an area of his brain was examined with an electric probe (by [[Wilder Penfield]]).  <!---After this discussion between Morse and Ward further research was done concerning Penfield's work. The area being mapped was called the [[Sylvian fissure]] located in the area of the right temporal lobe, p. 104-105 ''Closer to the Light''. Researchers in Chile confirmed that near-death experiences were caused by neuron activity within the Sylvian fissure.
{{reflist|2}}
 
“Learning that other scientists had reached the same conclusion independently told us that we had at least discovered the circuit boards of mysticism. In our hearts, some of us believed strongly that we had discovered the seat of the soul” p. 110 ''Closer to the Light''.--->
 
==References==
{{reflist}}

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"Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried. And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world." (from Plato, The Republic)

(PD) Image: Hieronymus Bosch

Near-death experience (NDE) is the common name for feelings, impressions and out-of-body experiences, reported especially by people who appear to have died but revived.[1]

Such reports date back to the time of Plato who wrote about the Myth of Er.[2], but the term near-death experience was coined by a psychologist, Raymond Moody, in his book, Life after Life, first published in 1975.[3] The book was a compilation of the experiences reported by more than 100 people who came close to death. Moody believes in an afterlife, and regards these reports as possible supporting evidence for this, while recognising that there are other explanations. Generally however, scientists consider that NDEs arise from the disordered activity of a brain under extreme stress that is interpreted in a way conditioned by expectations. [4]

In a later book, Moody wrote: “By the classical definition, death is the state from which you don't return. It is defined as irreversible. Hence, since all of the NDEers returned, they were never really dead. What happened was that various criteria for death were fufilled" [5] [6] Both adults and children report similar NDE experiences.[7] Similar experiences have been reported by others, including when someone is participating in meditation, under emotional duress or at the bedside of a dying loved one.

Did the NDE experiencer really die?

The immediate reactions to Moody's book were very polarised; some embraced the reports as endorsing their belief in an afterlife, others dismissed the reports as hallucinatory delusions or mere inventions. Moody's book was simply a compilation of anecdotes. However, other researchers since then have consistently found that NDEs are a relatively common occurrence, and follow a quite consistent narrative form in many different cultures and in historical accounts. This suggests that NDEs share a common neurological basis, and various theories have been proposed, for example, that neuronal dysfunction due to anoxia and/or carbon dioxide overload leads to a sequence of disordered brain activity that is subsequently interpreted as an "experience" in a way conditioned by expectations.[8]

Even if the NDE has a relatively prosaic explanation, the impact of an NDE on the lives of those who have experienced one is often considerable. There are many accounts of an NDE changing a person's values, making them less afraid of death, more religious and less materialistic. Conversely, an NDE apparently led Hong Xiuquan to believe that he was the brother of Jesus Christ, and he went on to lead a rebellion that claimed at least 20 million lives. [9]

Scales

In 1980, psychologist Kenneth Ring developed a 10 point interview scale, which he used to interview 102 people who had come close to death. The interview using the scale determined that 48% of Ring's group had had an NDE. Using this information he developed the Weighted Core Experience Index. [10] This index asked about whether the NDE was peaceful; involved an Out-of-Body Experience (OBE); tunnel or dark area; saw a light; entered the light.

The Greyson Scale was developed by psychiatrist Bruce Greyson after he interviewed 74 people who reported an NDE. [11] [12][13] He used the 16 most frequently reported features to develop his questionaire, which sought to establish whether there had been: an experience of altered time; accelerated thought process; a life review; a sense of sudden understanding; feelings of peace/joy/'cosmic oneness'; seeing or feeling the surrounding of light; reporting vivid sensations; extrasensory perception (ESP); experiencing visions; an OBE; a sense being in an 'otherworldly environment', of a mystical entity; of deceased or religious figures; or of a 'border' or point of no return. Each question is rated 0, 1 or 2. The potential maximum score was 32 and a score of 7 was needed to qualify for having an NDE. [10] There are variances between adults and children in what they may experience and describe concerning the NDE. Cultural variations concerning NDEs have also been reported.

Incidence

In The Light Beyond, Moody explained that people often reported the following:

  1. a "sense of peace and painlessness”. Cardiac patients, according to Moody, report the intense pain of a heart attack turns into pleasure.
  2. an "Out-of-Body Experience" (OBE): Moody reports his study subjects described seeing their body below while retaining a “body” of some sort they can not describe.
  3. a tunnel. “The descriptions are many, but the sense of what is happening remains the same: the person is going through a passageway toward an intense light” .
  4. 'People of Light', that glow with intense luminescence that fills the person with love. The light is described as being much brighter than anything found on earth while not hurting the eyes. The person under-going this experience may see friends and relatives who have died.
  5. Being of Light: The NDE witness will report seeing a holy supreme being of light. When meeting this holy being the person wants to remain but is told by the being of light to return to their earthly body.
  6. Life Review: “The closest description I've heard of it is that the whole person's life is there at once,” writes Moody. Moody states the NDE experiencer comes away from the experience realizing the most important things in life are love followed by knowledge.
  7. Return: NDE experiencers want to remain in the heavenly place and often experience short-term anger when they are brought back from death states.

In 1982, a Gallup poll survey in the United States of America, where most people believe in an afterlife, estimated that approximately 8 million people had had an NDE.[10] Of those, 26% described an OBE; 23% felt that they had experienced accurate visual perception; 17% heard sounds or voices; 32% feelings of peace or painlessness ; 14% saw light phenomena; 32% described having a life review ;32% being in another world ;23% encountering other beings; 9% described a tunnel experience; and 6% described a sense of precognition .

In 2011, the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences published a paper entitled 'There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them'. The paper, by neuroscientists Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt, summarised the results of various scientific studies of NDEs. [14]

A commonly reported features of NDEs is an awareness of being dead - but these feelings are not limited to NDEs. A condition called "Cotard" - or "walking corpse" syndrome, where a person believes they are dead, has been seen after trauma and during the advanced stages of typhoid and multiple sclerosis.[15] Out-of-body experiences can be artificially induced by stimulating the right temporoparietal junction in the brain, an area that has a role in perception and awareness.[16] The "tunnel of light" sensation can also be artificially induced: pilots flying at G-force can experience "hypertensive syncope" which causes tunnel-like vision for up to eight seconds [17], and one study suggests that the light at the end of the tunnel is explained by poor blood and oxygen supply to the eye.[18] The feelings of bliss and euphoria, meanwhile, can be recreated with drugs such as ketamine and amphetamine.

Non-Western experiences

"I died, as you know. I seemed to leave my body and stand beside it, looking down on what was me. The me that was standing there looked like the form I was looking at, only, I was alive and the other was dead. I gazed at my body for a few minutes, then turned and walked away. I left the house and village, and walked on and on to the next village, and there I found crowds of people,—Oh, so many people! The place which I knew as a small village of a few houses was a very large place, with hundreds of houses and thousands of men, women, and children. Some of them I knew and they spoke to me,—although that seemed strange, for I knew they were dead,—but nearly all were strangers. They were all so happy! They seemed not to have a care; nothing to trouble them. Joy was in every face, and happy laughter and bright, loving words were on every tongue." From Hawaiian Folk Tales (1907) [19]

The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences summarises reports collated in 16 refereed journal articles describing more than 275 non-Western NDEs, gathered since 2005. Experiences from Asia, Pacific area and hunter-gatherer cultures, and show many similarities .[19]

Children

Pediatrician Melvin Morse became interested in NDEs after one of his patients told about her NDE. She was resuscitated after nearly drowning. Katie spent three days near the brink of death and was kept in a deep coma. On the third day she awoke as if from a deep sleep and by the next day was visiting with family. She showed no signs of brain damage. Morse interviewed the girl about what she remembered from the experience and was told about her visit to heaven. Morse reports a person actually needs to be near death to have a near-death experience. He also reports the ara in the brain near the right temporal lobe is genetically coded for near-death experiences, forward to the book Closer to the Light. [20]

Morse created the Seattle Study to determine if someone needed to be near death in order to have an NDE. The control group of 121 seriously ill children had a less than five percent chance of dying but were ill. Morse interviewed children based on the psychological experience of being in an intensive care unit with no mention of NDEs. Interviews lasted approximately two hours and asked questions such as what the patient remembered while being sick, dreams and hospital experiences. 118 of the children who were seriously ill, but not close to death, did not remember their hospital experience.

The experimental group, the cardiac survivors or ones who awoke from deep comas, most of the children did report at least one feature of the NDE. Morse states the child would often start telling of their experience with a puzzled look. He gave the example of “Well, I kind of remember a really funny thing that I can't exactly telly. I was looking at myself and going somewhere, but I didn't exactly know where,” p. 23 Closer to the Light. Morse said the children would go onto tell about their NDE. Some of the children were not affected by the experience while others were profoundly affected. [20]


Near-Death-Like experiences that are not

One view of NDEs is to include them in the large group of phenomena in which changes in the body seem related to mental or spiritual experiences. There are many of these, from mediation and fasting to ceremonial intoxicants to forty days in the wilderness. In any of them, the effects have been interpreted as anything from madness to divine inspiration. Morse [5] rejects this view, and considers none of the following to be NDEs:

  • LSD – People who use this drug may feel like they've left their bodies. They also know they are not experiencing reality.
  • Morphine and Heroin – People using these drugs usually do not perceive this experience as real, nor does it usually involve seeing the tunnel of light, seeing the light, or having visions of heaven.
  • Recreational drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines and barbituates tend to cause paranoia, speech disturbances, loss of control of thought processes, poor memory, depression and fear, but not NDE-like experiences.
  • Anesthetic Agents – halothane, surital, nitrous oxide, narcotics, and nembutal do not cause hallucinations, although the patient may hear conversations while under the influence of one of these agents and become confused.
  • Ketamine – Another anesthetic agent no longer used. When used, patients reported frightening OBEs and they may have seen mirror images of themselves (autoscopic) when under the influence of this agent. Patients also know they are under the influence of drugs during this experience.
  • Transient Depersonalization – The person becomes emotionally detached from their bodies during a near-fatal experience. Morse found no evidence of this in the children he interviewed after their NDE.

[5]

Causes of NDEs

NDEs seem to be relatively common in cardiac arrest patients after successful resuscitation, with an estimated incidence of 11 to 23%.[21]One prospective study of 52 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest reported that 11 had experienced an NDE, and that this was connected to higher initial partial pressures of end-tidal CO2, higher arterial blood CO2 levels, and previous NDEs. Higher serum levels of potassium might also play a role. During cardiac arrest, the end-tidal CO2 falls to very low levels, reflecting the very low cardiac output achieved with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CO2 levels affect the acid-base equilibrium in the brain, and this can provoke unusual experiences in the form of bright light, visions, and out-of-body experiences [22]

In 2007, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report of a patient, in whom electrodes had been implanted to suppress tinnitus, who repeatedly experienced an out-of-body experience during stimulation of part of the superior temporal gyrus. Positron-emission tomographic scanning showed brain activation at specific brain sites following stimulation, and the authors suggested that the experience of disembodiment is mediated by coactivation of a small area at the junction of the angular and supramarginal gyrus, which affects vestibular–somatosensory integration of body orientation in space, and the posterior part of the superior temporal cortex, which is believed to be involved in processing an internal map of self-perception. They suggest that these same regions may be activated in patients who report disembodiment as part of an NDE.[23]

Neuroscientist Mario Beauregard and colleagues measured brain activity (using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG)) while they meditated; participants were asked to mentally visualize and emotionally connect with the "being of light" allegedly encountered during their "near-death experience". The meditative state was associated with hemodynamic and neuroelectric changes in brain regions known to be involved either in positive emotions, visual mental imagery, attention or spiritual experiences.[24]

Pyschiatrist Karl Jansen attributes NDEs to “underlying mechanisms in more mysterious realms that cannot currently be described." He attributes NDEs partly to neurochemistry and psychology. [25]

Neurologist Kevin Nelson attributes NDEs to Rapid Eye Movement (REM) state, and believes that the NDE bright light is caused by visual stimulation in the brain due to the REM, while the 'tunnel' is caused by a decrease of blood flow to theeye.[26] Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center similarly attributes NDEs to oxygen starvation in the brain.[25]


Morse writes in Closer to the Light that electrical stimulation of the right temporal lobe has caused patients to report 'seeing God'. He first came up with this theory after discussing NDEs with Art Ward who was the chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Washington. Ward recalled one patient who experienced every trait of the NDE experience after an area of his brain was examined with an electric probe (by Wilder Penfield).

References

  1. Blackmore SJ (1996) Near-death experiences J R Soc Med 89:73-6. Review. PMID 8683504
  2. Myth of Er (Plato, Republic X). Retrieved on 2011-01-11.
  3. Raymond Moody (2001) Life After Life: the investigation of a phenomenon – survival of bodily death, San Francisco, CA: Harper SanFrancisco ISBN 0-06251739-2
  4. Near-death experience 'all in the mind' 'BBC News 31 October 2011
  5. Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 Perry, Paul; Moody, Raymond A (1988). The Light Beyond. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-05285-3. 
  6. Eelco FM et al. (2010) Evidence-based guideline update: Determining brain death in adults: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology Neurology 74:1911>
  7. Morse M et al. (1985) Near-death experiences in a pediatric population Am J Dis Child139:595-600 PMID 4003364
  8. Blackmore SJ (1996) Near-death experiences J R Soc Med 89:73-6. Review. PMID 8683504
  9. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan
  10. Jump up to: 10.0 10.1 10.2 Parnia S (2006). What happens when we die: a groundbreaking study into the nature of life and death. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House. ISBN 1-4019-0710-5. 
  11. Greyson B (2003) Near-death experiences in a psychiatric outpatient clinic population Psychiatr Serv 54:1649-51 PMID 14645808
  12. Greyson B (2010) Hypercapnia and hypokalemia in near-death experiences Crit Care 14:420 PMID 20519028
  13. Griffith LJ (2009) Near-death experiences and psychotherapy Psychiatry (Edgmont) 6:35-42 PMID 20011577
  14. Mobbs D, Watt C (2011) There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them Trends in Cognitive Sci 15:447-9
  15. McKay RL, Cipolotti L (2007) Attributional style in a case of Cotard delusion. Conscious Cogn (2007) 16:349–59
  16. Blanke O. Arzy S (2004) The out-of-body experience: disturbed self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction Neuroscientist 11:16–24
  17. Lambert EH, Wood EH (1946) Direct determination of man's blood pressure on the human centrifuge during positive acceleration Federation Proc 5:59
  18. Nelson KR et al. (2007) Out-of-body experience and arousal. Neurology 68:794–5
  19. Jump up to: 19.0 19.1 Hawaiian Folk Tales (1907) Ed Thomas G. Thrum Project Gutenberg
  20. Jump up to: 20.0 20.1 Perry P; Morse M (1990). Closer to the light: learning from children's near-death experiences. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-394-57944-5. 
  21. Parnia S et al. (2007) Near death experiences, cognitive function and psychological outcomes of surviving cardiac arrest Resuscitation 74:215-21 Review. PMID 17416449
  22. Klemenc-Ketis et al. (2010) The effect of carbon dioxide on near-death experiences in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors: a prospective observational study Crit Care 14:R56 PMID 20377847
  23. De Ridder D et al. (2007) Visualizing out-of-body experience in the brain N Engl J Med 357:1829-33 PMID 17978291
  24. Beauregard M et al. (2009) Brain activity in near-death experiencers during a meditative state Resuscitation 80:1006-10 PMID 19573975
  25. Jump up to: 25.0 25.1 At the Hour Of Our Death - TIME=. Retrieved on 2011-01-11.
  26. Doctor says near-death experiences are in the mind - Page 2 - CNN. Retrieved on 2011-01-11.