Complex visual imagery and cognition during near-death experiences.
Alexander Batthyány
Journal of Near-Death Studies 2015 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2015-34-2-p65-83 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 653 |
| Population | Cardiac and/or respiratory arrest patients who reported near-death experiences |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | In a majority of the 653 near-death experience reports analyzed, both figurative and abstract mentation were reported as either preserved or markedly improved during unconsciousness and unresponsiveness following cardiac and/or respiratory arrest. The authors contend these findings underscore the need to study how complex conscious experience can persist during severely deteriorating physiological function, including clinical death. |
Abstract
Abstract: Near-death experiences (NDEs) entail complex and structured conscious experience during conditions known to coincide with rapid loss of consciousness often associated with decline or disruption of the neurological correlates currently held to be causative factors of visual imagery and cognition. In this study , 653 NDE reports of cardiac and/or respiratory arrest patients were analyzed for unprompted, spontaneous references to quality of conscious visual imagery and mentation during an NDE. Results indicat that in a majority of NDEs, both figurative and abstract mentation are either preserved or markedly improved during unconsciousness and unresponsiveness in the context of respiratory and cardiac arrests. These findings underscore the call to further study the mechanisms behind the 'outliving' of a conscious sense of selfhood and complex, structured visual imagery and cognition during severely deteriorating physiological function -- and perhaps especially during clinical death.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |