No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Endless Consciousness: A Concept Based on Scientific Studies of Near-Death Experiences
Abstract
In this chapter a concept of non-local consciousness will be described, based on recent studies on near-death experiences
(NDE). Recently several theories have been proposed to explain a NDE. The challenge to find a common explanation for the cause
and content of a NDE is complicated by the fact that a NDE can be experienced during various circumstances, such as during
severe injury of the brain as in cardiac arrest to a continuum when the brain seems to function normally. Since the publication
of several prospective studies on NDE in survivors of cardiac arrest, with strikingly similar results and conclusions, the
phenomenon of the NDE can no longer be scientifically ignored. It is an authentic experience which cannot be simply reduced
to imagination, fear of death, hallucination, psychosis, the use of drugs, or oxygen deficiency. People appear to be permanently
changed by a NDE during a cardiac arrest of only some minutes duration. According to these studies, the current materialistic
view of the relationship between the brain and consciousness held by most physicians, philosophers and psychologists is too
restricted for a proper understanding of this phenomenon. There are good reasons to assume that our consciousness does not
always coincide with the functioning of our brain: enhanced consciousness can sometimes be experienced separately from the
body.
... Although less frequently, NDE-like experiences might also occur in noncritical conditions, such as 195 hemodialysis or even in periods of psychological stress. Their incidence occurs in approximately 10-18% of patients and they have been described by specific and reliable epidemiological studies (Greyson, 2003;Van Lommel, 2011). They are often characterized by the sensation of being in a different dimension, where the usual perception of space and time disappears while the physical dimension 200 vanishes. ...
... In fact, the crucial specificity of NDEs and OBEs is their ability to produce veridical perceptions, which also occur during the phase of cardiac arrest (Parnia et al. 2014). This is the case of the so-called "Peak in Darien" experience in which patients meet recently deceased persons without having been informed of their death (e.g., the case of Eddie Cuomo) (Greyson, 2010b), 295 or meet unknown but relevant persons, such as a biological father (Van Lommel, 2011). ...
In contemporary Western culture, death has been widely censured because of its conceptual implications; it lies at the boundaries between reductionism and metaphysics. There is not yet an efficacious epistemology able to solve this contraposition and its consequent collision with science and tradition. This article analyzes Near Death Experiences (NDEs) as a prototypical argument in which the two perspectives conflict. Specifically, it analyzes the epistemological antinomies of the ontological representations of death, inhering in passage versus absolute annihilation. Indeed, the NDEs theme permits the examination of the logical contradiction between monistic reductionism and its ontological counterpart to improve the discovery of a new paradigm that integrates the ecological with eternalist views.
... 1. mechanistic and pragmatic neurophysiological interpretations (starting with Francis Crick's famous, provocative Astonishing Hypothesis, 31 as well as cognitive and information theory approaches) 32,33 ; 2. intriguing but still undemonstrated quantum theory hypotheses [34][35][36][37][38][39] ; and 3. seemingly outlandish hypotheses ranging from protoconsciousness to extended, non-local consciousness, some of which have the flavor of a neoanimism or panpsychism. [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] Some of the hypotheses in items 2 and 3 may well be better founded than was hitherto believed (despite their appearing odd or outlandish when seen through the prism of the classical materialist-monist stance). A skeptical but openminded attitude (neither accepting nor rejecting anything a priori) seems wiser and more appropriate for investigating these features of consciousness, while we wait for them to be confirmed or disproved. ...
... For example, a child met his sister, who had died in an accident while he was in coma, or a patient encountered an unknown man, who turned out afterwards to be his biological father. 47,83 If these are facts, they cannot be ignored, however uncommon they may be, and seemingly incompatible with established knowledge. It is the duty of science to neither reject nor ignore them a priori, nor to make them fit at all costs with the known laws of nature. ...
Consciousness has been one of the most important and tantalizing issues ever since the origin of philosophy and medicine. The concept of consciousness and the so-called "hard problem" (i.e., the mind-brain relationship) are highly complex topics that have yet to be elucidated, involving the realms of both science and philosophy with profound epistemological implications. In the lively debate on the foundations of the science of consciousness there are several potential biases of an essentially philosophical nature, such as those related to the paradigm and axioms adopted, and the ostensible logical contradiction between monism and dualism. Their origin dates back largely to Descartes' thinking and the birth of the new sciences as a compromise with the Inquisition, but they have been handed down through the Enlightenment and Positivism. A proper investigation of consciousness and the world of subjectivity demands a careful reflection on the paradigm of scientific medicine to identify possible flaws and overcome the limits of the mechanistic-reductionist approach.
... Many religious and philosophical traditions have attempted to answer these questions, calling that essential personal sentience soul or spirit. To the extent that sentience without embodiment has been studied scientifically, most of the literature belongs to recognized but controversial fields, notably paranormal (psi) studies on survival of bodily death dating from the turn of the twentieth century (e.g., Balfour, 1917;Hyslop, 1918;James, 1886;Lodge, 1909;Myers, 1903Myers, /1920 and up to the present (e.g., Almeder, 1992;Braude, 2003;Gauld, 1983;Griffin, 1997;Sudduth, 2016); near-death experience (NDE) research (e.g., Fenwick & Fenwick, 2012;Greyson, 2014;Holden, 2009;Ring, 2006;Van Lommel, 2011a, 2011b; and reincarnation research (e.g., Irwin & Watt, 2007;Matlock, 1990Matlock, , 2019Stevenson, 1960aStevenson, , 1960bStevenson, ,1977bStevenson, , 1982Stevenson, , 1992. All of these fields are augmented by nonlocal models of consciousness in which personal sentience is not restricted to the central nervous system or other more distributed bodily structures, such as RNA (e.g., Almeder, 1992;Berger & Berger, 1991;Braude, 1992Braude, , 1996Braude, , 2002Braude, , 2003Braude, , 2014Ducasse, 1969;Eisenbud, 1992;Griffin, 1997;E. ...
This article examines a second set of data produced in a thematic analysis of 68 “earliest memory” narratives submitted to an independent website to explore the question: what do people who claim to remember how they came into the world say about their experience prior to and including birth? Part 1 examined the first and largest subset of the data, narratives of an otherworldly existence consistent with Western reincarnation intermission stage 2 experiences, near-death experience accounts and mythic traditions. This article thematically analyzes descriptions of life in the womb, birth, and apparently veridical out-of-body and other paranormal impressions of events surrounding birth, congruent with pre- and peri-natal psychology, especially early trauma. Surfacing and resolving such early memories may have greater potential for healing than treating later life events.
... Weitere Daten, die das Vorkommen von NLE belegen, stammen aus Erfahrungsberichten der Nahtodforschung, bei der zwar nicht regelmäßig, aber doch immer wieder davon berichtet wird, dass Menschen in Bewusstlosigkeit, während das Herz schon seit mehr als 5 Minuten zu schlagen aufgehört hat, also das Hirn nicht mehr voll funktionsfähig und somit kein Bewusstsein mehr vorhanden ist, über Wahrnehmungen berichten -etwa über das Handeln der Retter, über den Verbleib persönlicher Gegenstände, über ungewöhnliche medizinische Handreichungen -, die bei genauem Hinsehen nicht auf klassische Weise zustande gekommen sein können (Sabom 1998, van Lommel 2011, van Lommel et al. 2001vgl. auch den Beitrag von Fischer in diesem Band). ...
Zusammenfassung Der implizite moderne Konsens der Naturwissenschaft und mit ihr der Neurowissenschaften scheint zu sein, dass geistige Phänomene Epiphä-nomene oder Resultat der Anordnung materieller Systeme, genauer gesagt des Gehirns sind. Spielformen der materialistischen Fassung des Problems wie Bewusstsein entsteht sind mannigfaltig, lassen sich aber alle auf eine Grundaussage zurückführen: materielles Sein ist die Bedingung und die Ursache von geistig-bewusstem Sein. Dies erzeugt philosophisch gespro-chen Kategorienfehler. Darauf hat Hoche, neben anderen, hingewiesen. Die meisten naturwissenschaftlich orientierten Mediziner und Neurowis-senschaftler meinen, sie hätten den Geist erklärt oder mindestens in die Flasche gebannt und machen es sich mit einer impliziten materialistischen Weltanschauung gemütlich. Auch wenn dies der Grundkonsens vieler heutiger Wissenschaftler zu sein scheint, lohnt es sich, diesen zu hinter-fragen. Eine genauere Analyse zeigt, dass geistige und materielle Systeme komplementäre Beschreibungen sind, die nicht aufeinander reduzierbar sind. Damit sind materialistische und idealistische Thesen gleichermaßen untauglich, die Komplexität unserer Welt zu erklären. Parapsychologische Phänomene gehören neben einigen anderen Erfahrungen, wie etwa spiri-tuellen Erfahrungen mit noetischer Qualität, zu jenen Bereichen der Hu-manwissenschaft, die sich gegen einen vulgär-materialistischen Reduktio-nismus sträuben. Ich werde ausgehend von solchen Überlegungen ein Modell anbieten, wie wir uns das Zusammenwirken zweier kategorial verschiedener, doch aufeinander bezogener Systeme vorstellen können.
ZET Amaç: Kardiyak arrest (KA) geçiren ve kardiyopulmoner resüsitasyon uygulanan hastaların kognitif süreçler yaşayabileceği, bazılarının ise arrest süresince yaşadıkları olayları bilincin varlığını gösterecek şekilde ve doğru olarak anlatabildikleri belirtilmektedir. Bu araştırmada kardiyak arrest sonrası yaşama dönenlerde ölüm eşiğine yakınlaşma deneyimlerinin incelenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntem: Araştırma niteliksel tipte yapıldı. Özel bir hastanenin kardiyoloji yoğun bakım kliniklerinde yatışı yapılmış ve bu süreçte arrest olup başarılı resüstasyon ile yaşama geri dönmüş 12 hasta örneklemi oluşturdu. Örneklem seçiminde amaçlı örnekleme yöntemi kullanıldı. Bu kliniklerin alınma nedeni araştırmacılardan birinin bu kurumda çalışıyor olması ve bu hastalara başarılı resüstasyon yaparak yaşama geri döndürmüş olmasıdır. Veriler yüz yüze derinlemesine görüşme yöntemi ile Mart-Mayıs 2019 tarihleri arasında toplandı. Derinlemesine görüşmede; literatür incelemesi ve uzman görüşü alınarak belirlenen anahtar sorular ve her bir anahtar soruyu açıcı rehber soruların bulunduğu " Yapılandırılmamış Soru Formu", "Bireysel Bilgi Formu ile Bilgilendirme ve Onam Formu kullanıldı. Literatüre dayalı olarak oluşturulan taslak form üzerinde iki akademisyen ve alandan bir uzman hekim ile görüşüldü, anlam bozuklukları ve eksiklikler giderildi. Görüşmeler hastanenin toplantı odasında gerçekleştirildi. Yapılan görüşmelerin her biri yaklaşık 40-50 dakika sürdü ve görüşmeler hem katılımcılar hem de araştırmacılar tarafından yeni bir bilgi kalmayıncaya kadar devam edildikten sonra sonlandırıldı. Görüşmelerde; gizlilik esasına dayalı olarak katılımcılara kod verildi (Kod: K.1, E.1) ve ses kaydı alındı. Araştırmada görüşmeler sonunda elde edilen veriler ses kayıt cihazından bilgisayara aktarıldı. Verilerin analizinde kodlamaya dayalı içerik analizi kullanıldı. Bu analizde birbirine benzeyen veriler belirli kavramlar ve temalar altında sınıflandırıldı ve anlaşılır biçimde düzenlenerek yorumlandı. Bireysel bilgilerin frekans ve yüzdeleri hesaplanıp ifade edildi. Elde edilen veriler ayrıntılı olarak raporlaştırıldı ve doğrudan alıntılara yer verilerek araştırmanın geçerliliği sağlandı. Bulgular: Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgulara göre katılımcıların %75'i erkek, yaş ortalaması 63, %50'si üniversite mezunu, dini eğilim olarak %41,7'si Deist, %50'si, Dindar olarak kendilerini tanımladı. Araştırmaya katılanların %75'i bunu bir ölüm deneyimi olarak değerlendirdi. Katılımcıların görüşme sorularına verdikleri yanıtlar genel olarak incelendiğinde bu süreçte "rahatlama" ve "huzur hissi" nin olduğu, "zamanın hızla geçtiği", "derin bir karanlıktan ışığa çıkıldığı", "ağrı ve acının hissedilmediği", hayata ikinci kez dönmenin "mutluluğunu" yaşamın çok değerli olduğunu ifade ettikleri belirlendi. Sonuç: Kardiyak arrest sonrası yaşama dönenlerde ölme eşiğine yaklaşma deneyimlerinin incelendiği bu çalışmada katılımcıların büyük kısmı bu süreci "ölüm deneyimi" olarak kabul ettiklerini belirtti. Ayrıca görüşme yapılan hastaların kardiyak arrest sürecinde yaşadıkları olayları tanımlama şekilleri ve ifadeleri bilincin varlığını gösterecek şekilde; "huzur hissi", "derin bir karanlıktan ışığa çıkış" ifadeleri ile açıkladıkları belirlendi. Araştırmanın daha geniş örneklemle tekrarlanmasının yanı sıra, arrest sürecinde görev alan sağlık profesyonellerinin bu konuda bilgilendirilmeleri önerilmektedir. ABSTRACT Objectıves: Patients with cardiac arrest (CA) who undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation may experience cognitive processes, and some may accurately describe the events experienced during the arrest, indicating the presence of consciousness. The aim of this study was to investigate the approaches to near death experiences in patients who returned to life after cardiac arrest. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in qualitative type. The sample consisted of 12 patients hospitalized in the 6 cardiology intensive care clinics of a private hospital who were arrested and returned to life with successful resuscitation. Purposeful sampling method was used in sample selection. The reason for these clinics is that one of the researchers is working at this institution and has successfully resuscitated these patients and returned them to life. Data were collected between March and May 2019 by face-to-face interview method. In-depth interview; Key questions determined by literature review and expert opinion and forms containing guiding questions for each key question were used. These forms were Semi-Structured Questionnaire, Individual Information Form and Informing and Consent Form. Two academicians and one specialist physician were interviewed on the draft form based on the literature, meaning disorders and deficiencies were resolved. Interviews were held in the meeting room of the hospital. Each of the interviews lasted approximately 40-50 minutes and was terminated after the interviews were continued by both participants and researchers until there was no more information available. Interview; On the basis of confidentiality, participants were given a code (Code: K.1, E.1) and audio recording was taken. The data obtained from the interviews were transferred from the voice recorder to the computer. Coding-based content analysis was used for data analysis. In this analysis, similar data were classified under certain concepts and themes and interpreted in a comprehensible manner. Frequency and percentages of individual information were calculated and expressed. The data obtained were reported in detail and the validity of the study was ensured by direct quotations. Results: According to the findings of the study, 75% of the participants were male, the average age was 63, 50% were university graduates, as religious tendency, 41.7% Deist and 50% as religious. 75% of the respondents evaluated this as a death experience. When the answers given by the participants to the interview questions were examined in general, it was determined that there was "a feeling of relaxation and serenity", "time passed rapidly, light emitted from a deep darkness", "pain and pain were not felt", and the happiness of returning to life for a second time was very valuable. Conclusion: In this study where the experience of approaching the threshold of dying was examined in those who returned to life after cardiac arrest, most of the participants stated that they accepted this process as a "death experience.. In addition, the forms and expressions of the interviewed patients describing the events they experienced during the cardiac arrest process indicate the presence of consciousness; The feeling of peace, from a deep darkness to light with expressions were identified. In addition to repeating the study with a larger sample, it is recommended that health professionals involved in the arrest process be informed about this issue.
Objectıves: Patients with cardiac arrest (CA) who undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation may experience cognitive processes, and some may accurately describe the events experienced during the arrest, indicating the presence of consciousness. The aim of this study was to investigate the approaches to near death experiences in patients who returned to life after cardiac arrest. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in qualitative type. The sample consisted of 12 patients hospitalized in the cardiology intensive care clinics of a private hospital who were arrested and returned to life with successful resuscitation. Purposeful sampling method was used in sample selection. The reason for these clinics is that one of the researchers is working at this institution and has successfully resuscitated these patients and returned them to life. Data were collected between March and May 2019 by face-to-face interview method. In-depth interview; Key questions determined by literature review and expert opinion and forms containing guiding questions for each key question were used. These forms were Semi-Structured Questionnaire, Individual Information Form and Informing and Consent Form. Two academicians and one specialist physician were interviewed on the draft form based on the literature, meaning disorders and deficiencies were resolved. Interviews were held in the meeting room of the hospital. Each of the interviews lasted approximately 40-50 minutes and was terminated after the interviews were continued by both participants and researchers until there was no more information available. Interview; On the basis of confidentiality, participants were given a code (Code: K.1, E.1) and audio recording was taken. The data obtained from the interviews were transferred from the voice recorder to the computer. Coding-based content analysis was used for data analysis. In this analysis, similar data were classified under certain concepts and themes and interpreted in a comprehensible manner. Frequency and percentages of individual information were calculated and expressed. The data obtained were reported in detail and the validity of the study was ensured by direct quotations. Results: According to the findings of the study, 75% of the participants were male, the average age was 63, 50% were university graduates, as religious tendency, 41.7% Deist and 50% as religious. 75% of the respondents evaluated this as a death experience. When the answers given by the participants to the interview questions were examined in general, it was determined that there was “a feeling of relaxation and serenity”, “time passed rapidly, light emitted from a deep darkness”, “pain and pain were not felt”, and the happiness of returning to life for a second time was very valuable. Conclusion: In this study where the experience of approaching the threshold of dying was examined in those who returned to life after cardiac arrest, most of the participants stated that they accepted this process as a “death experience.. In addition, the forms and expressions of the interviewed patients describing the events they experienced during the cardiac arrest process indicate the presence of consciousness; The feeling of peace, from a deep darkness to light with expressions were identified. In addition to repeating the study with a larger sample, it is recommended that health professionals involved in the arrest process be informed about this issue.
In this chapter it is argued that spirituality is the next if not last taboo that science has imposed on enquiry, similar to the taboo imposed on studying sexuality at the beginning of the twentieth century. This taboo needs to be broken in order for science and society to progress. In this chapter, some presuppositions are clarified and questions posed in relation to the content and reality of spiritual experience. The epistemological presuppositions of how we actually know that a spiritual experience is a spiritual experience and not just a hallucination, and how individual consciousness can actually touch reality if it is only an epiphenomenon of material organization are tackled and potential solutions offered. It is shown that by subscribing to a complementarist view of the mind-body problem or the way consciousness operates, inner experience can be seen as a way of approaching reality similar to the way science approaches reality through sense experience. Finally the question of what the referent of such an experience is addressed and a bridge built briefly towards the traditional philosophical notion of reality, God, and totality.
For the last four decades or so, anthropologists have been concerned with the concept of consciousness in indigenous healing systems, in particular with altered states of consciousness (ASC). This text aims to define actual perceptions of consciousness or other aspects of it in certain indigenous cultures, using epic anthropological case studies as well as material from research conducted by myself in Nepal and Malaysia. The greatest problem encountered is that in most cases indigenous concepts and perceptions of existence and the functions of consciousness have been translated-given the failure to find a more appropriate term-using the terms soul or vital breath. This text attempts to demonstrate that many of these indigenous perceptions are closer to what is defined in neuroscience as consciousness than concepts more pertinent to western culture such as soul. In the light of this affirmation, therapeutic practices performed in most indigenous healing systems are presented as a supreme play between different types of consciousness (practitioner, patients and bystanders) in a symbolic process involving the knowledge, deconstruction and reconstruction of the self and the world around one.
The Psychological Repercussions of ‘Memories’ of One’s Own Death – a Critical Assessment of the Work of Dr Pim Van Lommel
In 2001, in the medical journal The Lancet, cardiologist Pim van Lommel and his colleagues published a prospective, longitudinal study on the enduring existence of ‘memories’ from periods of unconsciousness in 344 patients who had suffered cardiac arrest. Although methodologically better than previous studies on this subject (based on retrospective surveys), this study is not immune from criticism. In particular, the transformation process supposedly caused by Near-Death Experiences (NDE), a set of memories identified in the literature as the subjective equivalent of demise, is based on a biased assessment of the subjective processes involved, and on a relatively small sample for a longitudinal study. Yet it is this study which provides the main empirical basis for the alleged psychological after-effects inherent to NDE. This article offers a critical analysis of the methodology used in Van Lommel’s study, and, in the wake of Le Maléfan, puts forward a different interpretation of the transformations highlighted : these ‘memories’ or ‘false memories’ of the individual’s own death are in fact a salutary hallucination supporting a revival of subjectivity in extreme situations.
Although there is a long tradition of philosophical and historical discussions of the mind-body problem most of them make no mention of psychic phenomena as having implications for such an issue. This article is an overview of selected writings published in the XIX and XX centuries literatures of mesmerism, spiritualism, and psychical research whose authors have discussed apparitions, telepathy, clairvoyance, out-of-body experiences and other parapsychological phenomena as evidence for the existence of a principle separate from the body and responsible for consciousness. Some writers discussed here include individuals from different time periods. Among them are John Beloff, J. C. Colquhoun, Camille Flammarion, J. H. Jung-Stilling, Frederic W. H. Myers, and J. B. Rhine. Rather than defend the validity of their position, my purpose is to document the existence of an intellectual and conceptual tradition that has been neglected by philosophers and others in their discussions of the mind-body problem and aspects of its history.
A surprising level of agreement about the nature of consciousness emerged at a recent multi-disciplinary “meeting of experts”
gathering on Neuroscience, Spirituality and Consciousness in Freiburg Germany, 2008. Contra the reigning hypothesis for consciousness,
the epiphenomenal model, this hypothesis suggests: (i) Consciousness is a fundamental element of reality. (ii) Consciousness
is mediated by the brain. That is, consciousness takes place with the help of the brain but is not within it. Brains are transducers
of consciousness. (iii) Consciousness is independent of the brain. As the field of consciousness is experienced through consciousness-transducing
brains, consciousness appears to exist independently, though it remains so far unobservable unless transduced by brains. (iv)
The ability to be conscious of a connection with something larger may be the fundamental nature that distinguishes the human
being. The ability to sense ‘something larger’ (which cannot itself be observed), a mystical ability, may be the skill distinguishing
human beings from other hominids.
In this article first some general aspects of near-death experience will be discussed, followed by questions about consciousness and its relation to brain function. Details will be described from our prospective study on near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest in the Netherlands, which was published in the Lancet in 2001. In this study it could not be shown that physiological, psychological, or pharmacological factors caused these experiences after cardiac arrest. Neurophysiology in cardiac arrest and in a normal functioning brain will be explained. Finally, implications for consciousness studies will be discussed, and how it could be possible to explain the continuity of our consciousness. Scientific study of NDE pushes us to the limits of our medical and neurophysiologic ideas about the range of human consciousness and mind–brain relation.
When we are anesthetized, we expect consciousness to vanish. But does it always? Although anesthesia undoubtedly induces unresponsiveness
and amnesia, the extent to which it causes unconsciousness is harder to establish. For instance, certain anesthetics act on
areas of the brain's cortex near the midline and abolish behavioral responsiveness, but not necessarily consciousness. Unconsciousness
is likely to ensue when a complex of brain regions in the posterior parietal area is inactivated. Consciousness vanishes when
anesthetics produce functional disconnection in this posterior complex, interrupting cortical communication and causing a
loss of integration; or when they lead to bistable, stereotypic responses, causing a loss of information capacity. Thus, anesthetics
seem to cause unconsciousness when they block the brain's ability to integrate information.
To investigate the effect of induced ventricular fibrillation and defibrillation on cerebral blood flow (CBF) was investigated using a transcranial Doppler.
Prospective clinical study.
University hospital.
12 ASA physical status III and IV patients who underwent implantable cardioverter defibrillator placement during general anesthesia.
Cerebral blood flow velocity was measured repeatedly during induced ventricular fibrillation and subsequent defibrillation.
The mean flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery was measured using a transcranial Doppler. The mean flow velocities decreased significantly immediately after ventricular fibrillation was induced, but they returned to preventricular fibrillation levels immediately after successful defibrillation. Repeatedly induced ventricular fibrillations have no cumulative detrimental effect on the CBF velocity.
Repetitively induced ventricular fibrillation and defibrillation during the insertion of implantable cardioverter defibrillator did not show any detrimental changes in CBF. Transcranial Doppler may be a more sensitive device than other currently available cerebral monitors to detect changes in cerebral circulation during a brief episode of ventricular fibrillation and defibrillation.
Some people report a near-death experience (NDE) after a life-threatening crisis. We aimed to establish the cause of this experience and assess factors that affected its frequency, depth, and content.
In a prospective study, we included 344 consecutive cardiac patients who were successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals. We compared demographic, medical, pharmacological, and psychological data between patients who reported NDE and patients who did not (controls) after resuscitation. In a longitudinal study of life changes after NDE, we compared the groups 2 and 8 years later.
62 patients (18%) reported NDE, of whom 41 (12%) described a core experience. Occurrence of the experience was not associated with duration of cardiac arrest or unconsciousness, medication, or fear of death before cardiac arrest. Frequency of NDE was affected by how we defined NDE, the prospective nature of the research in older cardiac patients, age, surviving cardiac arrest in first myocardial infarction, more than one cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during stay in hospital, previous NDE, and memory problems after prolonged CPR. Depth of the experience was affected by sex, surviving CPR outside hospital, and fear before cardiac arrest. Significantly more patients who had an NDE, especially a deep experience, died within 30 days of CPR (p<0.0001). The process of transformation after NDE took several years, and differed from those of patients who survived cardiac arrest without NDE.
We do not know why so few cardiac patients report NDE after CPR, although age plays a part. With a purely physiological explanation such as cerebral anoxia for the experience, most patients who have been clinically dead should report one.
Near-death experiences, unusual experiences during a close brush with death, may precipitate pervasive attitudinal and behavior changes. The incidence and psychological correlates of such experiences, and their association with proximity to death, are unclear. We conducted a 30-month survey to identify near-death experiences in a tertiary care center cardiac inpatient service. In a consecutive sample of 1595 patients admitted to the cardiac inpatient service (mean age 63 years, 61% male), of whom 7% were admitted with cardiac arrest, patients who described near-death experiences were matched with comparison patients on diagnosis, gender, and age. Near-death experiences were reported by 10% of patients with cardiac arrest and 1% of other cardiac patients (P<.001). Near-death experiencers were younger than other patients (P=.001), were more likely to have lost consciousness (P<.001) and to report prior purportedly paranormal experiences (P=.009), and had greater approach-oriented death acceptance (P=.01). Near-death experiencers and comparison patients did not differ in sociodemographic variables, social support, quality of life, acceptance of their illness, cognitive function, capacity for physical activities, degree of cardiac dysfunction, objective proximity to death, or coronary prognosis.
When we fall asleep, consciousness fades yet the brain remains active. Why is this so? To investigate whether changes in cortical information transmission play a role, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation together with high-density electroencephalography and asked how the activation of one cortical area (the premotor area) is transmitted to the rest of the brain. During quiet wakefulness, an initial response (approximately 15 milliseconds) at the stimulation site was followed by a sequence of waves that moved to connected cortical areas several centimeters away. During non-rapid eye movement sleep, the initial response was stronger but was rapidly extinguished and did not propagate beyond the stimulation site. Thus, the fading of consciousness during certain stages of sleep may be related to a breakdown in cortical effective connectivity.
Any medical treatment is surrounded by a psychosocial context that affects the therapeutic outcome. If we want to study this psychosocial context, we need to eliminate the specific action of a therapy and to simulate a context that is similar in all respects to that of a real treatment. To do this,
The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to meditation have not been systematically explored. We performed a randomized, controlled study on the effects on brain and immune function of a well-known and widely used 8-week clinical training program in mindfulness meditation applied in a work environment with healthy employees.
We measured brain electrical activity before and immediately after, and then 4 months after an 8-week training program in mindfulness meditation. Twenty-five subjects were tested in the meditation group. A wait-list control group (N = 16) was tested at the same points in time as the meditators. At the end of the 8-week period, subjects in both groups were vaccinated with influenza vaccine.
We report for the first time significant increases in left-sided anterior activation, a pattern previously associated with positive affect, in the meditators compared with the nonmeditators. We also found significant increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine among subjects in the meditation compared with those in the wait-list control group. Finally, the magnitude of increase in left-sided activation predicted the magnitude of antibody titer rise to the vaccine.
These findings demonstrate that a short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function. These findings suggest that meditation may change brain and immune function in positive ways and underscore the need for additional research.
To make progress on the problem of consciousness, we have to confront it directly. In this paper, I first isolate the truly hard part of the problem, separating it from more tractable parts and giving an account of why it is so difficult to explain. I critique some recent work that uses reductive methods to address consciousness, and argue that these methods inevitably fail to come to grips with the hardest part of the problem. Once this failure is recognized, the door to further progress is opened. In the second half of the paper, I argue that if we move to a new kind of nonreductive explanation, a naturalistic account of consciousness can be given. I put forward my own candidate for such an account: a nonreductive theory based on principles of structural coherence and organizational invariance and a double-aspect view of information.
Every modern century has its paragons, its culture-heroes, who fill the place once taken by saints and messiahs. For the first half of the twentieth century, outside the totalitarian states, the most celebrated paragons have been Gandhi, Schweitzer, and Einstein; and of these the most influential as a thinker was clearly Albert Einstein.
Explores evidence that even those blind from birth can "see" during near-death (NDE) and out-of-body (OBE) experiences. The authors' evidence reveals a unique type of perception, which involved a deep awareness and profound ability to know that the authors have called "mindsight." The authors present their findings in detail, investigating case histories of blind persons who have actually reported visual experiences under NDEs or OBEs. The authors argue that the blind do not "see" as one normally thinks of sight. Instead, they described a kind of "transcendental awareness" they call mindsight. This involved the experience of being able to perceive from all angles at once, from every focal depth at once, and a sense of "knowing" the subject, not just visually, but with a deep and inexplicable knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Slowing and attenuation of the dominant frequency of the electroencephalogram (EEG) are changes commonly used to detect cerebral ischemia. To assess the validity of this method, the EEGs recorded during 93 episodes of circulatory arrest in ten normothermic, lightly anesthetized patients undergoing implantation of automatic internal cardioverting defibrillators (AICDs) were visually inspected for change. The number of events recorded for each patient varied from 5 to 18 and was a function of the duration and success of AICD testing in each patient. In 82 of 93 (88%) episodes, EEG changes were identified, and occurred an average of 10.2 s after the last normal heart beat. Of these 82, 67 (82%) illustrated slowing and attenuation. However, 15 (18%) of the hemodynamic events showed changes not previously described as indicative of cerebral ischemia: 6 (7%) showed a loss of delta-wave activity and 9 (11%) showed an increase in the amplitude of theta activity. Time to onset of these unusual changes (10.6 and 9.2 s, respectively) was not significantly different from that for EEG slowing and attenuation (10.2 s). Five of the ten subjects showed more than one pattern of EEG change. There was no significant difference in the time to onset of EEG change among individual patients, and neither were there differences in patterns of change associated with particular anesthetic agents. These results indicate that in normothermic, lightly anesthetized individuals, cerebral ischemia may cause changes in EEG pattern other than slowing and attenuation of dominant frequencies. These alternative patterns should be recognized as indicative of cerebral ischemia when intraoperative EEG monitoring is performed.
Unlabelled:
During cardioverter-defibrillator implantation, repeated episodes of ventricular fibrillation (VF) are induced. Insufficient recovery of oxygen metabolism may cause neurological sequelae. In this prospective clinical study, we monitored the electroencephalogram (EEG), middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (Vmca), and jugular bulb oxygen saturation and estimated cerebral oxygen uptake. Results were analyzed for tests requiring a single shock (Group 1) and tests requiring multiple shocks for defibrillation (Group 2). Immediately after the induction of VF, the mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) decreased to < 30 mm Hg, and the Vmca decreased to 0 cm/s. The EEG showed ischemic changes consisting of a decrease of fast, and an increase of slow, activity, progressively declining to isoelectricity within 11 +/- 2 s. After defibrillation, the MAP recovered rapidly regardless of the arrest duration (3 +/- 2 s). The EEG recovered within 17 +/- 9 and 22 +/- 12 s, respectively, for Groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.05) and did not reveal ischemic changes until induction of a subsequent arrest. In Group 1, the cerebral oxygen uptake increased to 191% +/- 31% of baseline values and returned to baseline in 16 +/- 7 s, whereas in Group 2, it increased to 229% +/- 38% (P < 0.05), followed by a significant decrease to less than baseline (85% +/- 18%; P < 0.005), and returned to baseline simultaneously with the Vmca. We conclude that, although restoration to normal of the EEG and cerebral oxygen uptake coincide in short arrests, EEG recovery underestimates metabolic recovery after tests requiring multiple shocks.
Implications:
Short test intervals have been mentioned as a cause of neurological sequelae after cardioverter-defibrillator implantation. This study demonstrates that although all systemic hemodynamic variables and the electrocardiogram may have returned to normal, cerebral oxygen uptake may still be depressed for a considerable time, especially after tests requiring two or more shocks.
To carry out a prospective study of cardiac arrest survivors to understand the qualitative features as well as incidence, and possible aetiology of near death experiences (NDEs) in this group of patients.
All survivors of cardiac arrests during a 1 year period were interviewed within a week of their arrest, regarding memories of their unconscious period. Reported memories were assessed by the Greyson NDE Scale. The postulated role of physiological, psychological and transcendental factors were studied. Physiological parameters such as oxygen status were extracted from the medical notes. Patients' religious convictions were documented in the interviews and hidden targets were used to test the transcendental theories on potential out of body claims. Those with memories were compared to those without memories.
11.1% of 63 survivors reported memories. The majority had NDE features. There appeared to be no differences on all physiological measured parameters apart from partial pressure of oxygen during the arrest which was higher in the NDE group.
Memories are rare after resuscitation from cardiac arrest. The majority of those that are reported have features of NDE and are pleasant. The occurrence of NDE during cardiac arrest raises questions about the possible relationship between the mind and the brain. Further large-scale studies are needed to understand the aetiology and true significance of NDE.
Very little is known about the dying process and in particular the state of the human mind at the end of life. Cardiac arrest is the final step in the dying process irrespective of cause, and is also the closest physiological model of the dying process. Recent studies in cardiac arrest survivors have indicated that although the majority of cardiac arrest survivors have no memory recall from the event, nevertheless approximately 10% develop memories that are consistent with typical near death experiences. These include an ability to 'see' and recall specific detailed descriptions of the resuscitation, as verified by resuscitation staff. Many studies in humans and animals have indicated that brain function ceases during cardiac arrest, thus raising the question of how such lucid, well-structured thought processes with reasoning and memory formation can occur at such a time. This has led to much interest as regards the potential implications for the study of consciousness and its relationship with the brain, which still remains an enigma. In this article, we will review published research examining brain physiology and function during cardiac arrest as well as its potential relationship with near death experiences during this time. Finally, we will explore the contribution that near death experiences during cardiac arrest may make to the wider understanding of human consciousness.
Some people who have survived a life-threatening crisis report an extraordinary experience. Near-death experiences (NDE) occur with increasing frequency because of improved survival rates resulting from modern techniques of resuscitation. The content of NDE and the effects on patients seem similar worldwide, across all cultures and times. The subjective nature and absence of a frame of reference for this experience lead to individual, cultural, and religious factors determining the vocabulary used to describe and interpret the experience. NDE can be defined as the reported memory of the whole of impressions during a special state of consciousness, including a number of special elements such as out-of-body experience, pleasant feelings, seeing a tunnel, a light, deceased relatives, or a life review. Many circumstances are described during which NDE are reported, such as cardiac arrest (clinical death), shock after loss of blood, traumatic brain injury or intra-cerebral haemorrhage, near-drowning or asphyxia, but also in serious diseases not immediately life-threatening. Similar experiences to near-death ones can occur during the terminal phase of illness, and are called deathbed visions. Furthermore, identical experiences, so-called “fear-death” experiences, are mainly reported after situations in which death seemed unavoidable like serious traffic or mountaineering accidents. The NDE is transformational, causing profound changes of life-insight and loss of the fear of death. An NDE seems to be a relatively regularly occurring, and to many physicians an inexplicable phenomenon and hence an ignored result of survival in a critical medical situation.
At Science , we tend to get excited about new discoveries that lift the veil a little on how things work, from cells to the universe. That puts our focus firmly on what has been added to our stock of knowledge. For this anniversary issue, we decided to shift our frame of reference, to look instead
The neural correlates of consciousness must be identified, but how? Anesthetics can be used as tools to dissect the nervous system. Anesthetics not only allow for the experimental investigation into the conscious-unconscious state transition, but they can also be titrated to subanesthetic doses in order to affect selected components of consciousness such as memory, attention, pain processing, or emotion. A number of basic neuroimaging examinations of various anesthetic agents have now been completed. A common pattern of regional activity suppression is emerging for which the thalamus is identified as a key target of anesthetic effects on consciousness. It has been proposed that a neuronal hyperpolarization block at the level of the thalamus, or thalamocortical and corticocortical reverberant loops, could contribute to anesthetic-induced unconsciousness. However, all anesthetics do not suppress global cerebral metabolism and cause a regionally specific effect on thalamic activity. Ketamine, a so-called dissociative anesthetic agent, increases global cerebral metabolism in humans at doses associated with a loss of consciousness. Nevertheless, it is proposed that those few anesthetics not associated with a global metabolic suppression effect might still have their effects on consciousness mediated at the level of thalamocortical interactions, if such agents scramble the signals associated with normal neuronal network reverberant activity. Functional and effective connectivity are analysis techniques that can be used with neuroimaging to investigate the signal scrambling effects of various anesthetics on network interactions. Whereas network interactions have yet to be investigated with ketamine, a thalamocortical and corticocortical disconnection effect during unconsciousness has been found for both suppressive anesthetic agents and for patients who are in the persistent vegetative state. Furthermore, recovery from a vegetative state is associated with a reconnection of functional connectivity. Taken together these intriguing observations offer strong empirical support that the thalamus and thalamocortical reverberant network loop interactions are at the heart of the neurobiology of consciousness.
This article reviews neuroimaging studies of conscious and voluntary regulation of various emotional states (sexual arousal, sadness, negative emotion). The results of these studies show that metacognition and cognitive recontextualization selectively alters the way the brain processes and reacts to emotional stimuli. Neuroimaging studies of the effect of psychotherapy in patients suffering from diverse forms of psychopathology (obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, unipolar major depressive disorder, social phobia, spider phobia, borderline personality) are also examined. The results of these studies indicate that the mental functions and processes involved in diverse forms of psychotherapy exert a significant influence on brain activity. Neuroimaging investigations of the placebo effect in healthy individuals (placebo analgesia, psychostimulant expectation) and patients with Parkinson's disease or unipolar major depressive disorder are also reviewed. The results of these investigations demonstrate that beliefs and expectations can markedly modulate neurophysiological and neurochemical activity in brain regions involved in perception, movement, pain, and various aspects of emotion processing. Collectively, the findings of the neuroimaging studies reviewed here strongly support the view that the subjective nature and the intentional content (what they are "about" from a first-person perspective) of mental processes (e.g., thoughts, feelings, beliefs, volition) significantly influence the various levels of brain functioning (e.g., molecular, cellular, neural circuit) and brain plasticity. Furthermore, these findings indicate that mentalistic variables have to be seriously taken into account to reach a correct understanding of the neural bases of behavior in humans. An attempt is made to interpret the results of these neuroimaging studies with a new theoretical framework called the Psychoneural Translation Hypothesis.
Markings (L. Sjöberg & W.H. Auden, Trans.)
- D Hammerskjöld
Out of our heads. Why you are not your brain, and other lessons from the biology of consciousness
- A Noë
Todesnäheerfahrungen in Ost-und Westdeutschland. Eine empirische Untersuchung
- I Schmied
- H Knoblauch
- B Schnettler
Consciousness beyond life: The science of the near-death experience
- P Van Lommel
Adventures in immortality: A look beyond the threshold of death
- G Gallup
- W Proctor
Return from tomorrow. Grand Rapids: Chosen Books of The Zondervan Corp
- G G Ritchie
- GG Ritchie
The incidence and phenomenology of near-death experiences
- P Sartori