Metaphysics & Psychology

Near-death experiences explored in peer-reviewed study

By T.K. Randall
April 12, 2022

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The research, which involved an international and multidisciplinary team of scientists, aimed to study near-death experiences (or "recalled experiences of death (RED)") while also laying the groundwork for future research into the subject.

The scientists found that some experiencers seemed to exhibit signs of lucidity, despite being outwardly unconscious, while studies of the brain indicated anomalous activity and electrical spikes indicative of a heightened state of consciousness in those in the midst of such experiences.

"Thus, studies of consciousness and lucidity during cardiac arrest, PVS [persistent vegetative state] and terminal lucidity during end of life experiences suggest that, paradoxically, people deemed to have irreversibly lost consciousness may in fact maintain a component of consciousness," they wrote.

They concluded that the research conducted thus far could neither prove nor disprove the phenomenon."Few studies have explored what happens when we die in an objective and scientific way, but these findings offer intriguing insights into how consciousness exists in humans and may pave the way for further research," said study leader Sam Parnia.

Intriguingly, the research also highlighted the possibility that a person who has died could potentially be revived hours or even days afterwards so long as their cells have not deteriorated too much.

"From a scientific perspective, death remains potentially reversible for as long as the underlying cellular processes have not reached biological irreversibility, possibly hours to days into the postmortem period," the researchers wrote.

Whether this could eventually be translated into a practical way to resuscitate someone who has been dead for days, however, remains to be seen.

Source: Jerusalem Post

Tags: Near-Death Experiences