Skip to content

Bruce Greyson

University of Virginia, University of Virginia Health System

88 papers in the library · 3,446 citations · publishing 1977-2026

Papers

Sort Most recent Most cited

Epistemological implications of near-death experiences and other non-ordinary mental expressions: Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness

Medical Hypotheses April 11, 2015 Enrico Facco, Christian Agrillo, Bruce Greyson 61 citations

During the last decades an increasing interest has developed in the so-called altered state of consciousness (ASCs); among these, near-death experiences (NDEs) are one of the most intriguing and debated examples. NDEs are deep and universal experiences with a clear phenomenology and incidence, while some of their features challenge the current views of human consciousness (focused on neural...

Using computational linguistics to understand near-death experiences: Concurrent validity for the Near Death Experience Scale.

Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice January 19, 2015 Rense Lange, Bruce Greyson, James Houran 18 citations

Latent semantic analysis—a technique to quantify qualitative data—was used on a large dataset of near death experience (NDE) accounts for which a sizable portion also had scores on Greyson’s NDE Scale. Given previous research with the NDE Scale showing there is a “core NDE” comprised of a probabilistic hierarchy of cognitive, affective, transcendental, and paranormal components, we hypothesized...

Electromagnetic phenomena reported by near-death experiencers.

The Journal of near-death studies 2015 Bruce Greyson, Mitchell B. Liester, Lee Kinsey et al. 5 citations

Electromagnetic (EM) aftereffects have been reported following near-death experiences (NDEs). These effects include both (a) EM actions, apparent actions by the individual on the surrounding EM environment, and (b) EM reactions, apparent reactions of the individual to the EM environment. This study investigated EM aftereffects among 216 NDErs, 54 persons who had been close to death without...

Almost 40 Years Investigating Near-Death Experiences

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 29, 2014 Adriana Sleutjes, Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Bruce Greyson 38 citations

This article reviews mainstream scientific publications on near-death experiences (NDEs). We searched near-death experience in titles, key words, and abstracts at the Web of Knowledge database published between 1945 and 2013. We identified 266 relevant documents, the oldest from 1977. There was a strong predominance of opinion articles (book reviews, commentaries, and editorials), review...

Daily spiritual experiences before and after near-death experiences.

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality August 18, 2014 Surbhi Khanna, Bruce Greyson 31 citations

People who have near-death experiences (NDEs) often report a subsequently increased sense of spirituality and a connection with their inner self and the world around them. In this study, we examined daily spiritual experiences, using Underwood and Teresi’s (2002) Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, among 229 persons who had come close to death. Frequency of daily spiritual experiences before the...

Mystical experiences associated with seizures

Religion Brain & Behavior April 8, 2014 Bruce Greyson, Donna K. Broshek, Lori L. Derr et al. 45 citations

Alterations of consciousness are critical factors in the diagnosis of epilepsy and seizure disorders. With this alteration in consciousness, some persons report unusual experiences that have been thought to resemble spontaneous mystical experiences. This study was designed to identify and characterize the mystical experiences associated with seizure activity, through the use of a quantitative...

Spiritual transformation after near-death experiences.

Spirituality in Clinical Practice March 1, 2014 Bruce Greyson, Surbhi Khanna 40 citations

Traumatic events may lead to dramatic changes in spirituality. The objective of this study was to explore whether posttraumatic spiritual transformation results not just from the traumatic event, but from spiritual experience during the crisis. The hypothesis tested was that survivors of a brush with death who had spiritual “near-death experiences” have greater spiritual growth and lesser...

Out-of-body experiences associated with seizures

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2014 Bruce Greyson, Nathan B. Fountain, Lori L. Derr et al. 35 citations

Alterations of consciousness are critical factors in the diagnosis of epileptic seizures. With these alterations in consciousness, some persons report sensations of separating from the physical body, experiences that may in rare cases resemble spontaneous out-of-body experiences. This study was designed to identify and characterize these out-of-body-like subjective experiences associated with...

Differentiating spiritual and psychotic experiences: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

The Journal of near-death studies 2014 Bruce Greyson 14 citations

This article discusses spiritually transformative experiences and how they differ from psychotic experiences, including the context, content, how the experience is remembered, and effect on the individual.

A comparative analysis of Japanese and Western NDEs.

The Journal of near-death studies 2014 Masayuki Ohkado, Bruce Greyson 8 citations

Decades of studies on near-death experiences (NDEs) have reveals both cross-cultural and culture-specific features (Kellehear, 2009) and that it is important to determine which aspects are attributed to the physiological, biological, or psychological mechanisms shared by all humans and which aspects are of cultural origin. In this article, we examine Japanese NDEs and compare their features...

Congruence Between Near-Death and Mystical Experience

International Journal for the Psychology of Religion October 1, 2013 Bruce Greyson 45 citations

AbstractNear-death experiences, altered states during a brush with death, may include mystical features like a sense of sacredness and divine union, timelessness/spacelessness, positive mood, noetic quality, and ineffability. We quantified mystical elements in near-death experience by comparing responses on the Mysticism Scale of 292 near-death experiencers and 34 persons who had come close to...

Near-Death Experiences and Spiritual Well-Being

Journal of Religion and Health April 30, 2013 Surbhi Khanna, Bruce Greyson 52 citations

People who have near-death experiences often report a subsequently increased sense of spirituality and a connection with their inner self and the world around them. In this study, we examined spiritual well-being, using Paloutzian and Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, among 224 persons who had come close to death. Participants who reported having near-death experiences reported greater...

Seeing Dead People Not Known to Have Died: “Peak in Darien” Experiences

Anthropology & Humanism November 21, 2010 Bruce Greyson 66 citations

SUMMARY The ubiquitous belief that, after death, our consciousness might persist in some discarnate form is fueled in part by phenomena like near‐death experiences (NDEs) and deathbed visions, mystical experiences reported on the threshold of death. Some NDEs, called “Peak in Darien” experiences, include visions of deceased people who are not known at the time to be dead. Cases of this kind...

Equivalência semântica da versão em português da Escala de Experiência de Quase-Morte

Psico-USF April 1, 2010 Fernanda Barcellos Serralta, Fernanda Genro Cony, Zelia Cembranel et al. 4 citations

Na literatura internacional, a experiência de quase-morte (EQM) é avaliada principalmente por meio do instrumento The Near-Death Experience Scale (NDE), elaborado por Bruce Greyson, em 1983. O objetivo do presente estudo é verificar a existência de equivalência semântica entre a versão original da escala (em inglês) e a versão traduzida ao português do Brasil, avaliando os significados geral e...

Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology.

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality February 1, 2010 Bruce Greyson 94 citations

Classical physics, anchored in materialist reductionism, offered adequate descriptions of everyday mechanics but ultimately proved insufficient for describing the mechanics of extremely high speeds or small sizes, and was supplemented nearly a century ago by quantum physics, which includes consciousness in its formulation. Materialist psychology, modeled on the reductionism of classical...

Hypercapnia and hypokalemia in near-death experiences

Critical Care 2010 Bruce Greyson 15 citations

Klemenc-Ketis and colleagues’ novel report of hyper capnia and hypokalemia associated with near-death experiences (NDEs) [1] was somewhat surprising, as Sabom [2] had previously reported lower than normal carbon dioxide levels measured at the time of a patient’s NDE, and Parnia and colleagues, in a prospective study of 63 cardiac arrest survivors, had found no signifi cant association of either...

Consistency of near-death experience accounts over two decades: Are reports embellished over time?

Resuscitation February 8, 2007 Bruce Greyson 111 citations

Aim"Near-death experiences," commonly reported after clinical death and resuscitation, may require intervention and, if reliable, may elucidate altered brain functioning under extreme stress. It has been speculated that accounts of near-death experiences are exaggerated over the years. The objective of this study was to test the reliability over two decades of accounts of near-death...

Commentary on ''Psychophysiological and Cultural Correlates Undermining a Survivalist Interpretation of Near-Death Experiences''

University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) 2007 Bruce Greyson 3 citations

Abstract: Keith Augustine has provided a legitimate and cogent critique of a transcendental interpretation of near-death experiences, exposing weaknesses in the research methodology, paucity of the data, and gaps in the arguments. He offers evidence from psychophysiological and cultural correlates of NDEs that he interprets as favoring a hallucinatory understanding of these phenomena. however,...

Comments on ''Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?''

University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) 2007 Bruce Greyson 2 citations

Abstract: Keith Augustine's critique of studies of veridical perception in near-death experiences is based on unsubstantiated speculation from the popular media, rather than on supportive data or peer-reviewed literature. Nevertheless, addressing the issues he raises would improve the methodology of near-death research and strengthen the evidential database for veridical perception.

Comments on "Does paranormal perception occur in near-death experiences?"

The Journal of near-death studies 2007 Bruce Greyson 1 citation

Keith Augustine's critique of studies of veridical perception in near-death experiences is based on unsubstantiated speculation from the popular media, rather than on supportive data or peer-reviewed literature. Nevertheless, addressing the issues he raises would improve the methodology of near-death research and strengthen the evidential database for veridical perception.

Letter to the Editor: Response to Augustine's "Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?"

University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) 2007 Bruce Greyson 1 citation

Letter written to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies providing a response to Augustine's article "Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?"

NEAR‐DEATH EXPERIENCES AND SPIRITUALITY

Zygon® June 2, 2006 Bruce Greyson 91 citations

Abstract. Some individuals when they come close to death report having experiences that they interpret as spiritual or religious. These so‐called near‐death experiences (NDEs) often include a sense of separation from the physical body and encounters with religious figures and a mystical or divine presence. They share with mystical experiences a sense of cosmic unity or oneness, transcendence of...

Do Prevailing Societal Models Influence Reports of Near-Death Experiences?

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 1, 2006 Geena Athappilly, Bruce Greyson, Ian Stevenson 52 citations

Transcendental near-death experiences show some cross-cultural variation that suggests they may be influenced by societal beliefs. The prevailing Western model of near-death experiences was defined by Moody's description of the phenomenon in 1975. To explore the influence of this cultural model, we compared near-death experience accounts collected before and after 1975. We compared the...

Failure to elicit near-death experiences in induced cardiac arrest.

The Journal of near-death studies 2006 Bruce Greyson, Janice Holden, J. Paul Mounsey 13 citations

Persons reporting near-death experiences (NDEs) sometimes describe a sense of having been out of their bodies and observing their surroundings from a visual perspective outside of and above their bodies. We attempted to study such phenomena during the surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), electrical devices that monitor the patient's heartbeat and...

Postcesarean Pulmonary Embolism, Sustained Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Embolectomy, and Near-Death Experience

Obstetrics and Gynecology November 1, 2005 Alan T. Marty, Frank L. Hilton, Robert K. Spear et al. 12 citations

BACKGROUND: Survival after surgical embolectomy for massive postcesarean pulmonary embolism causing sustained cardiac arrest is rare. CASE: One day after an uneventful cesarean delivery, a woman developed cardiac asystole and apnea due to pulmonary embolism. Femoral-femoral cardiopulmonary bypass performed during continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation allowed a successful embolectomy. Upon...