Near-Death Experience: Out-of-Body and Out-of-Brain?
Review of General Psychology March 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1037/a0021992 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Phenomenon Cognition Cognitive psychology Altered state Cognitive science Epistemology Consciousness Jungian analytical psychology |
| Citations | 56 |
| Key findings | Near-death experiences involve recurring features such as bright lights and tunnels, but their origin is largely unknown, with both biological and psychological interpretations suggested. |
Abstract
During the last decades, several clinical cases have been reported where patients described profound subjective experiences when near-death, a phenomenon called “near-death experience” (NDE). Recurring features in the accounts involving bright lights and tunnels have sometimes been interpreted as evidence of a new life after death; however the origin of such experiences is largely unknown, and both biological and psychological interpretations have been suggested. The study of NDEs represents one of the most important topics of cognitive neuroscience. In the present paper the current state of knowledge has been reviewed, with particular regard to the main features of NDE, scientific explanations and the theoretical debate surrounding this phenomenon.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distressing Near-Death Experiences | 1992 | Review | |
| Attitude Change Following Near-Death Experiences Individuals who have had near-death experiences | 1980 | Review | n = 21 |
| Near-death experiences. | 2004 | Review | |
| The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences | 2009 | Review | |
| Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 26
- A Virtual Out-of-Body Experience Reduces Fear of Death PLoS One January 9, 2017
- Near-death experiences between science and prejudice Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Virtual mortality and near-death experience after a prolonged exposure in a shared virtual reality may lead to positive life-attitude changes PLoS One November 5, 2018
- “Reality†of near-death-experience memories: evidence from a psychodynamic and electrophysiological integrated study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 19, 2014
- Near death experiences: a multidisciplinary hypothesis Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 21 more in the library
Cites 32
- 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
- Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis Perceptual and Motor Skills December 1, 1983
- Distressing Near-Death Experiences Psychiatry February 1, 1992
- Visualizing Out-of-Body Experience in the Brain New England Journal of Medicine October 31, 2007
and 27 more in the library