Nature Reviews Neurology
February 11, 2026
Pauline Fritz, Charlotte Martial, Olivia Gosseries et al.
1038/s41582-026-01186-y; 2026)2 rely on conceptual misunderstandings, mischaracterizations of our work or unsupported assertions. We welcome the opportunity to clarify these points. First, the suggestion that the term ‘recalled experiences of death’ (REDs) is more accurate than ‘near-death experiences’ (NDEs) is incompatible with established international agreement on the medical definition of...
Nature Reviews Neurology
June 1, 2025
Charlotte Martial, Pauline Fritz, Olivia Gosseries et al.
19 citations
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are episodes of disconnected consciousness that typically occur in situations that involve an actual or potential physical threat or are perceived as such, and the experiences are characterized by a rich content with prototypical mystical features. Several explanatory theories for NDEs have been proposed, ranging from psychological or neurophysiological to...
The Oxford Handbook of Psychedelic, Religious, Spiritual, and Mystical Experiences
June 20, 2024
Kevin R. Nelson
Abstract Near-death experiences have gained wide attention, forging an indelible image of spiritual experience in many people today. This chapter examines the neuroscience underpinnings of near-death, including principles that have often been neglected or distorted, often skewing the common impression of near-death. During near-death from fainting or cardiac arrest, the boundary between...
Brain Communications
June 22, 2021
Kevin R. Nelson
3 citations
This scientific commentary refers to ‘The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation’, by Peinkhofer et al. (https://doi. org/10. 1093/braincomms/fcab132). In the Gifford Lectures of 1901–02 at the University of Edinburgh, William James a physician, psychologist and philosopher categorized spiritual experiences thereby establishing the origins of their scientific...
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
November 1, 2014
Kevin R. Nelson
Brain activity explains the essential features of near-death experience, including the perceptions of envelopment by light, out-of-body, and meeting deceased loved ones or spiritual beings. To achieve their fullest expression, such near-death experiences require a confluence of events and draw upon more than a single physiological or biochemical system, or one anatomical structure. During...
Neurology
March 5, 2007
Kevin R. Nelson, Michelle Mattingly, Frederick A. Schmitt
60 citations
In a study of more than 13,000 Europeans, 5.8% reported the out-of-body experience (OBE) form of autoscopy.1 Occurring in diverse clinical settings, OBE is also typical of near death experience (NDE). NDE are responses to life-threatening crisis characterized by a combination of dissociation from the physical body, euphoria, and transcendental or mystical elements. Persons with NDE may have an...
Neurology
April 10, 2006
Kevin R. Nelson, Michelle Mattingly, Sherman A. Lee et al.
120 citations
The neurophysiologic basis of near death experience (NDE) is unknown. Clinical observations suggest that REM state intrusion contributes to NDE. Support for the hypothesis follows five lines of evidence: REM intrusion during wakefulness is a frequent normal occurrence, REM intrusion underlies other clinical conditions, NDE elements can be explained by REM intrusion, cardiorespiratory afferents...