Enhancement of perceptual and cognitive functions in near-death experience: A perspective from embodiment theories.
Omid Khatin-Zadeh, Zahra Eskandari, Danyal Farsani, Hassan Banaruee
Explore 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2024.103069 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | People who have experienced a near-death event |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Embodiment Iconic gesture Metaphoric gesture |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key findings | Iconic and metaphoric gestures occur significantly more often with expressions referring to NDE events than with those referring to ordinary events, suggesting stronger embodied memory for NDE events. |
Abstract
The phenomenon of near-death experience (NDE) is attracting a growing attention among researchers of various fields. In this study, we looked at NDE from a cognitive perspective to find out how NDE events are embodied when people recall and describe them. We examined the descriptions of a group of people talking about what they had experienced in the state of NDE. Based on the gesture-as-simulated-action theory, we assumed that co-speech gestures occurring when people were talking about their experiences were physical realizations of mentally-simulated events. The results showed that the number of iconic and metaphoric gestures occurring with expressions referring to NDE events was significantly larger than those occurred with expressions referring to ordinary events. Based on these results, we suggest that embodied memory for NDE events is stronger than embodied memory for ordinary non-NDE events. NDE events are perceived, recalled, and embodied by strong activation of sensorimotor systems in a state of perceptual and cognitive enhancement, although sensorimotor systems seem to be unresponsive to sensory stimuli during NDE. Finally, based on theories of embodied cognition, we conclude that the enhancement of cognitive functions that takes place in the state of NDE is the result of enhancement in perceptual functions.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands Cardiac patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals | 2001 | Prospective cohort study | n = 344 |
| Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit Cardiac inpatients at a tertiary care center | 2003 | Observational cohort | n = 1,595 |
| Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death Patients who believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and... | 1990 | Observational cohort | n = 58 |
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Individuals who reported having had a near-death experience during a life-threatening... | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cites 22
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death The Lancet November 1, 1990
- The phenomenology of near-death experiences American Journal of Psychiatry October 1, 1980
- Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Psychological Science March 24, 2004
- Characteristics of Near-Death Experiences Memories as Compared to Real and Imagined Events Memories PLoS One March 27, 2013
and 17 more in the library