Temporality of Features in Near-Death Experience Narratives
Charlotte Martial, Héléna Cassol, Georgios Antonopoulos, Thomas Charlier, Julien Heros, Anne-Françoise Donneau, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Steven Laureys
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 13, 2017 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00311 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 154 |
| Population | French-speaking individuals who reported a near-death experience with a Greyson NDE scale score of 7 or higher |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Citations | 85 |
| Key findings | The most frequently reported sequence of NDE features was out-of-body experience, tunnel, bright light, and peace, but this sequence was rare among experiencers. |
Abstract
Background: After an occurrence of a Near-Death Experience (NDE), Near-Death Experiencers (NDErs) usually report extremely rich and detailed narratives. Phenomenologically, a NDE can be described as a set of distinguishable features. Some authors have proposed regular patterns of NDEs, however the actual temporality sequence of NDE core features remains a little explored area.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency distribution of these features (globally and according to the position of features in narratives) as well as the most frequently reported temporality sequences of features.
Methods: We collected 154 French freely expressed written NDE narratives (i.e., Greyson NDE scale total score ≥7/32). A text analysis was conducted on all narratives in order to infer temporal ordering and frequency distribution of NDE features.
Results: Our analyses highlighted the following most frequently reported sequence of consecutive NDE features: Out-of-Body Experience, Experiencing a tunnel, Seeing a bright light, Feeling of peace. Yet, this sequence was encountered in a very limited number of NDErs.
Conclusions: These findings may suggest that NDEs temporality sequences can vary across NDErs. Exploring associations and relationships among features encountered during NDEs may complete the rigorous definition and scientific comprehension of the phenomenon.
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
Cited by 34
- DMT Models the Near-Death Experience Frontiers in Psychology August 15, 2018
- Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports. Consciousness and Cognition March 1, 2019
- Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness Trends in Cognitive Sciences January 22, 2020
- The Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale: Development and psychometric validation Consciousness and Cognition November 1, 2020
- The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation Brain Communications June 22, 2021
and 29 more in the library
Cites 22
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands The Lancet December 1, 2001
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit General Hospital Psychiatry July 1, 2003
- Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Psychological Science March 24, 2004
and 17 more in the library