The phenomenon known as near-death experience (NDE) is a deeply intense and personal encounter typically linked with death or moments that bring one close to death. Reports of such experiences extend back over several centuries and are shared amongst diverse cultures. A noteworthy account comes from Francis Beaufort, an Irish-born British admiral and the inventor of the Beaufort Wind Scale, who detailed a particularly striking NDE after he narrowly escaped drowning in 1791.
With time, the existence of NDEs has moved away from being a subject of doubt in scientific circles, instead being acknowledged as distinct forms of cognitive experiences, offering unique insights into the realms of consciousness. These new developments in the study of NDEs have been extensively covered by Rachel Nuwer in her Scientific American article, published in June 2024. Even though there are reports of negative NDEs (14%), the majority (75%) are positive and often demonstrate a common phenomenon: the sense of the human mind departing the body, undergoing seemingly otherworldly blissful experiences, and then making its way back to the body, which revives itself.
Those who undergo these experiences frequently narrate feeling their consciousness hovering above their bodies, viewing their physical selves from an external perspective or even wandering off into cosmic space. A recurring feature is voyaging through a dark tunnel towards an intense light, encountering familiar faces both living and dead, or celestial figures such as angels or religious portrayals. During this journey, the individuals often experience a profound sense of love and cosmic solidarity.
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A common part of these encounters is a life review, where the individual perceives the repercussions of their actions, experiencing the happiness or pain caused to others, and reflecting on the efforts they made in pursuing their life’s objectives such as gaining wisdom and cultivating love. Oftentimes, they are informed that their time is yet to come urging them to return to their bodies, regardless of their longing to remain in this perceived state. Intriguingly, the likelihood of NDEs doesn’t seem to increase for religious individuals compared to atheists. Moreover, in the course of NDEs, individuals are observed to evaluate themselves based on universal virtues rather than personal moral principles. Distressing NDEs have also been imparted, with descriptions of hell-like scenarios or frightening encounters with sinister entities or emptiness.
Initial research indicates a likely correlation between individuals susceptible to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep seeping into wakefulness, thus merging dream and awareness states, and experiencing NDEs. Regardless, there remains a significant knowledge gap in understanding the neurobiological underpinnings of NDEs.
Could individuals nearing the end of life operate under a key function, or is there a fluctuation in the responses when they comprehend that their death is imminent? Scientists have turned their focus towards the neurological activities of individuals nearing or experiencing death, in search of any unique indicators related to Near Death Experiences (NDE).
EEG results from four patients in a coma, both before and after their life-support devices were deactivated, were studied. As the oxygen supply to the brain deteriorated, two patients displayed an unexpected spike in high-frequency brainwave activities which are generally linked to the formation and merging of memories. This phenomenon has been observed broadly in healthy rats during artificially caused heart failure, however, in humans it is limited to a particular area that handles certain elements of consciousness including visual, auditory and movement perception, and is thus, linked with NDEs.
Further proof of brain activities post-cardiac arrest was furnished by a comprehensive study in 2023. During in-house heart failures, EEG details along with brain oxygen stats were recorded from victims. Of the total victims, interpretable EEG data was obtained from nearly 10 per cent and 40 per cent of this subset displayed neurological activities that confirmed brief episodes of conscious brain function, as long as an hour into CPR.
A significant 79 per cent of individuals reporting NDEs professed experiencing an out-of-body sensation, with some claiming to have witnessed things from vantage points impossible in their physical position. To substantiate such claims, experimental tests are ongoing where unforeseen objects or images have been placed inside hospital resuscitation rooms, some of which can be viewed only from spots near the ceiling.
There are researchers investigating NDEs who dismiss the theory that the mind could operate independently of the brain’s function. They argue that to have and recall an NDE, a functioning and unaffected brain is required. One hypothesis offered in their defence is that NDEs are simply another form of behaviour observed across the animal kingdom, where creatures feign death, during extremely dangerous situations, like if they find themselves trapped by a lethal adversary, but their consciousness remains on alert for possible escape.
Many faiths carry the belief in the existence of an individual’s soul, an abstract entity encompassing one’s identity, temperament, and memories, often equated with the mind. Christian doctrine suggests that the soul outlives the physical body. Do NDEs, then offer evidence of the soul’s existence? If these experiences are identified scientifically simply as hallucinations of a dying brain, then the answer is no, otherwise…
By William Reville, retired professor of biochemistry at UCC.