Near-Death Experiences & Conscious Experience Article

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THETHETAASSOCIATIONNEWSLETTERSPRING2014

CanNearDeathExperiencesBeRevealingAbout

ConsciousExperience?

BYBRYANWILLIAMS

Numerouspersonalaccountssuggestthatmanypeopletendtoencounteranumberofvividand

profound spiritual aspects during a neardeath experience (NDE). These can include venturing

through a dark tunnel, seeing otherworldly visions of the afterlife, encountering deceased

relativesandfriends,andsensingthepresenceofdivinebeings,amongothers.13Butperhapsone

of themost interestingaspects fromaparapsychological researchperspective is the sense that

people sometimeshaveof stillbeing fullyawareof their surroundingsat timeswhen they are

presumedtobefullyunconscious,comatose,orevenclinicallydead.Illustrativeexamplesofthis

maybefoundinpersonalaccountssenttothePsychicalResearchFoundationbyLucynaEllis,who

hadexperiencedanNDEontwoseparateoccasions.HerfirstNDEoccurredinconjunctionwitha

serioushealthcrisisthatsuddenlyarosewhileshewasparticipatinginadancemarathonin1993.

Theaccountofherexperiencewhileunconsciousisasfollows:

Ifeltsubmergedinsuchawarmth;abeautifulsenseoflove.Ithadsuchblissandharmony,withno

judgment.Ifound

myself

in

some

kind

of

tunnel

and

at

the

end

there

was

ahuge

shining

bright

light.IinstantlybegantoruntowardstheendofthetunnelsoIcouldgettothelight.IfeltIwasnt

allowed to get through the light and at that point, I foundmyself in horrible darkness again. I

startedtoshiverbadlyandfeltthepainagain,andIheardvoicessaying,Sheiscomingback,sheis

comingback

Duringherperiodofunconsciousness,Mrs.Ellisrelatedhowshehadbeenawareofcertainevents

goingonaroundherbody:

Irememberintuitivelytherusharoundme.Iknewthe[IV]dripwasbeinginstalledandfeltsome

splashonmyarmIrememberthinking,Whataretheydoingtome?

.Atsomepoint,Irememberjustknowingthatmybestfriendwastouchingmyhair.Iactually

wantedher

to

talk

to

me

and

reassure

me

that

Iwill

be

OK,

and

was

angry

with

her

that

she

didnt

dothat. Iwastalking toherandexpectedher to talkbacktome; thatwasquitea frustrating

feelingbecauseIwasconvincedshecouldhearmebutofcourse,shedidnot.

.WhenIwasresuscitated,Iconfrontedmyfriendaboutmyattempttocommunicatewithher

andshewasshockedatwhatIwassayingbecausewhenshestrokedmyhairshecouldseemyblue

lips,bluefaceandnosignsoflife.Ihadnopulseandtherewasnobreathing,andithadnoteven

occurredtohertotalktome.

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Mrs.Ellisdescribeda similarkindofawarenessduringher secondNDE,whichoccurred

following a surgical procedure to treat the complications she experienced in conjunctionwith

givingbirthtohersecondsoninMayof2009:

I remember sensingurgency aroundme and seeing lots of people. I also remember seeing

somebody

open

my

eyelids

and

shine

a

light

[into

my

eyes],

and

that

person

said,

Nothing

Again

Iwas furious. Iwassoangrywith thedoctorsandwastelling them (notusingmyusualvoice,

though)thatiftheywanttotalkaboutmelikeIamdead,theyshouldleavetheroomandconsult

outsidenotinfrontofme!!!IwasshoutingthatIcanhearthemandIamnotdead!!!

Otherhospitalpatientswhohaveclaimed suchawarenessduringanNDEseem tohave

been able to describe people, objects, and events around their body that they presumably

couldnthaveperceived iftheyhadflatlinedandtheirbrainactivitywasdecliningrapidlyorhad

stopped froma lackofblood flow.39

Onesuchaccountofawarenessbyapatientwascitedby

KennethRingandMadelaineLawrenceduringtheirearlystudiesofNDEsatHartfordHospital in

Connecticut:

In the late1970s,SueSaunderswasworkingatHartfordHospitalasarespiratory therapist.One

day,shewashelpingtoresuscitatea60ishmanintheemergencyroom,whoseelectrocardiogram

[i.e.,heartmonitor]hadgoneflat.Medicswereshockinghimrepeatedlywithnoresults.Saunders

wastryingtogivehimoxygen.Inthemiddleoftheresuscitation,someoneelsetookoverforher

andsheleft.

Acoupleofdayslater,sheencounteredthispatient intheICU.Hespontaneouslycommented,

Youlookedsomuchbetterinyouryellowtop.

Shewassoshockedatthisremarkthatshegotgoosebumps,forshehadbeenwearingayellow

smockthepreviousday.

Yeah,themancontinued,Isawyou.Youhadsomethingoveryourfaceandyouwerepushing

airintome.AndIsawyouryellowsmock.

Saundersconfirmedthatshehadhadsomethingoverherfaceamaskandthatshehadworn

theyellow

smock

while

trying

to

give

him

oxygen,

while

he

was

unconscious

and

without

a

heartbeat.9,pp.227228,italicsinoriginal

InasmallnumberofNDEcases,thepatientwasapparentlyabletohaveanoutofbody

experience (OBE)andgoonestep furtherbyventuringbeyondtheroomwheretheirbodywas

located.DuringthatbriefOBEexcursion,thepatientwasabletoperceiveotherpeopleandevents

thatwere presumablyoutside the rangeof theirbodys sensorymotor system.5,cases8,9,&11

Such

casesbecomeparticularly interestingwhen thepeopleoreventswitnessedby thepatient are

later independently verified eitherby thepeopledirectly involved (i.e., they confirm that they

weredoingwhatthepatientsawthemdoingduringtheOBE),orbyothersnearbywhocanvouch

for the event.6,8

One such case is that of Peggy Raso,whichwasdocumented by the late Ian

Stevensonandhiscolleaguesat theUniversityofVirginiasDivisionofPerceptualStudies.5,case11

Duringherrecoveryfromanelectivesurgicalprocedure,Mrs.Rasosuddenlysufferedapulmonary

embolismonemorningandfellunconscious.Asmedicalpersonnelsoughttoreviveher,Mrs.Raso

reportedlyhadanNDE inwhichshewentoutofherbodyandobservedtheeventsoccurring in

andoutsideofherhospitalroomfromabove.PartoftheextensivepersonalaccountofherNDE

wentasfollows:

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IlookeddownatthebedfrommyvantagepointneartheceilingIsawagirltherewholookedto

beinagreatdealofpain.Hereyebrowsweredrawntogether,herlipswereblue,sheappearedto

haveabluemustache,therewasanoxygentubeinhernose,herhairwaswetlookingandstrung

outonthepillow.Ifeltsorryforher.Doctorsandnurseswerecomingandgoingfromtheroom.I

sawonedoctorhitherhardinthechest.IreallyfeltconfusedatwhatIwasseeingandhearing.The

nurses stationwas about fifty feet frommy room. I saw a doctor come to the station that I

recognized.He

was

afamily

friend

and

Ihad

been

raised

next

door

to

him.

The

nurse

told

him

that

PeggyAdams[Mrs.Rasosmaidenname]hadjustdied.HerepliedthathewouldcallMargaret(my

mother). My hearing was extremely acute. I heard and saw another patient on the floor

complainingabouttheactivityandnoisecomingfrommyroom.

Itdawnedonme theywere talkingaboutme. I tried to tell them Iwasnotdown there. It

becameobvioustheywerenothearingme. Irecognizedanothernurse fromanother floorcome

intotheroom.Iknewherthoughts.ShehadheardfromthehospitalgrapevinethatIhaddiedand

wantedtosee.She leanedonthe footofthebedandsaid,Toobad,andshewasonlytwenty

five.Shelefttheroomshakingherheadnegativelyandsaidtosomeoneinthehall,Imsosorry.

Iwasawareofapriestbeing intheroomandfrommyvantagepointIwatchedhim leave.Ashe

enteredthehall,Iheardhimsay,Iwillprayforhersoul.Isawmyhusbandsoftlycryinginthehall.

Hesaid,WhatcanItellthechildren?Myaunt,anRN,answeredhimwith,Godjustwantedher.

Ifeltsorryforthem.

Myattention

was

called

back

to

the

hall

by

my

aunts

voice.

Isaw

her

sitting

in

asquatting

positionleaningagainstthewallandtalkingtoanothernursewhowasonduty.Shesaid,Shewas

suchagoodlittlemother.IknewshewastalkingaboutmeandIthought,Iamstillagoodlittle

mother.HerwordsstartledmeintorealizingIwasdead.IlookedatthebodyagainandIknewit

wasmine. Itriedsohardtotellthem Iwasntthereanymoreand Iwasnt inpain. Iwishedthey

couldallbeuptherewithme.5,p.393

Lateron,Mrs.Rasoshusbandverifiedthatheraunt,whodidworkasanRNatthesamehospital,

hadsaid,Shewassuchagoodlittlemother,andherememberedthathehadsaidtoher,Ido

notknowwhatIwilldonow.Ihavethreechildrentotakecareofnow.Hedidnotbelievethathis

wifecouldhaveseenhimfromhispositionthroughthedoorway,anddidnotthinkshecouldhave

heardhim

crying

or

what

he

and

her

aunt

were

saying.

InafewNDEcases involvingOBE,thepatientswereapparentlyabletoperceiveobjects

locatedinanareabeyondthesensoryreachoftheirbody,whichwaslatercheckedandverified.

OnesuchcasewasthatdescribedbynurseKathyMilne,whichwascitedbyRingandLawrence.9

Milnepersonallyrecountedthecaseasfollows,whichshereceivedfromawomanwhohadhad

anNDEwhilebeingresuscitated:

[Thepatient]toldmehowshefloatedupoverherbody,viewedtheresuscitationeffortforashort

timeand then feltherselfbeingpulledupthroughseveral floorsof thehospital.Shethen found

herselfabovetheroofandrealizedshewaslookingattheskylineofHartford.Shemarvelledathow

interestingthisviewwasandoutofthecornerofhereyeshesawaredobject.Itturnedouttobea

shoe.[S]he

thought

about

the

shoeand

suddenly,

she

felt

sucked

up

a

blackened

hole.

The

rest

ofherNDEwasfairlytypical,asIremember.

Iwasrelatingthistoa[skeptical]residentwhoinamockingmannerleft.Apparently,hegota

janitortogethimontotheroof.WhenIsawhim laterthatday,hehadaredshoeandbecamea

believer,too.9,pp.226227

Collectivelylookedatinretrospect,NDEcasesinvolvingpatientawarenesswouldseemto

offeranargumentagainstthelongheldassumptionthathumanconsciousexperienceissolelythe

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result of complex physiological processes occurring in the brain. If some NDE patients are

apparently able to perceive and accurately recall events at timeswhen their brain function is

either declining or gone, then thismay be suggestive of some aspect of conscious awareness

extendingbeyondthebrain,whichsomemightinterpretasbeingsuggestiveofsurvival.Thisraises

the question: Can NDEs of this type possibly shed some light on the nature of conscious

experience?

SuchaquestionwasposedbyphysicianSamParnia inanarticlepublished inthejournal

Medical Hypotheses in 2007, in light of the results from four separate survey studies that

examinedNDEs inhospitalpatientswhohadsurvivedcardiacarrest.10

Parniawasacoauthorof

thefirststudy,whichlookedatNDEsamongcardiacsurvivorsadmittedtoSouthamptonGeneral

Hospital in theUKover aoneyearperiod.11

Of the63 survivors, 11.1% claimed tohavebeen

aware of themoment that they had been unconscious,with themajority of them describing

features characteristic of NDEs. Apart from the amount of oxygen they received during their

cardiac episode, these surviving patients did not significantly differ in vital signs or medical

conditionfromcardiacpatientswhodidnotreportanNDE.

Appearing in the prominent medical journal The Lancet, the second study by Dutch

cardiologistPimvanLommelandcolleagueshadsurveyed344cardiacarrestpatients from ten

hospitalsintheNetherlandsintheyearsbetween1988and1992.12

Eighteenpercenthadreported

anNDE,theoccurrenceofwhichwassignificantlymorecommonforyoungerpatients(under60

years of age) than for older patients. Similar to the first study, NDE patients did not differ

medicallyfromnonNDEpatientsintermsofthetypeofcardiactreatmenttheyreceived,suchas

medication,assistedbreathing,CPR,anddefibrillation(i.e.,electricshockoftheheart).

PsychiatristBruceGreysonoftheUniversityofVirginiasDivisionofPerceptualStudieshad

reported the third study,which looked at 1,595patients admitted to theUniversityHospitals

cardiac careunitover twoandahalfyears.13

About7%of thesepatientshad sufferedcardiac

arrest,andofthese,10% reportedanNDE. Incontrast,only1%ofpatientswithotherkindsof

cardiacproblems

reported

an

NDE.

Greyson

also

found

that

NDEs

were

significantly

common

amongyoungerpatients,andNDEpatientswere significantlymore likely tohavehadprevious

paranormal experiences. They also did not differ from nonNDE patients in terms of medical

condition/diagnosis,socialstatus,andotherdemographics.

ThefourthstudywasconductedbyresearchnurseJanetSchwaningerandhercolleagues

at the BarnesJewish Hospital of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis,

Missouri.14

Allpatientswho suffered cardiacarrestat thehospital fromApril1991 toFebruary

1994were identified,andofthe30patientswhowereabletobe interviewed,23%hadhadan

NDE.

Collectively,thesefourstudiessuggestthatNDEsoccurinlessthanaquarter(1023%)of

cardiac

patients,

that

patients

who

have

NDEs

tend

to

be

younger,

and

that

there

isnt

anything

thatmedicallyorsociallydistinguishesacardiacpatienthavinganNDEfromothercardiacpatients

whodonthaveone.

Parnia argues that NDE cases which seem to involve patient awareness and OBElike

aspectsconstituteaproblemforscienceandmedicinethatshouldbestudiedfurtherinorderto

exploretheimplicationsthesecasesmayhaveforconsciousness.10

Thisargumentmaybefurther

supplementedbyfindingsfromotherstudieswhichsuggestthatsuchNDEcasesmaynotbeeasily

explainedaway.Forinstance,inanotherstudypublishedinTheLancet,theUniversityofVirginia

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researchersfoundthatpatientswhowereclosetodeath(asdeterminedbytheirmedicalrecords)

were significantly more likely to report enhanced mental functioning during their NDE than

patientswhowerenotclosetodeath(butmayhavethoughttheywere).15

Anupdatetheylater

made to thisstudyobtained similar results, inaddition to finding thatof the130patientswho

weredeterminedtobeclosetodeath,92%reportednormalorenhancedmentalabilityduring

theirNDE.

6

Such

findings

again

suggest

the

possibility

of

continuing

mental

awareness

in

NDE

patientsatatimewhentheirbrainfunctioningispresumedtobedecreasingorgone.

However,itisimportanttoconsiderthepossibilitythatatleastsomeinstancesofpatient

awareness during an NDE could still be due to patients subtly gaining information through

conventionalmeans,inspiteofappearingtobefullyunconsciousordeadatthetime.Thiswould

mainlyapplytocasesinwhichpatientswereabletodescribeeventsoccurringincloseproximity

totheirbody(e.g.,eventsoccurring inthesameroom),wheretheycouldhavepossiblyseenor

overheardsomeof theeventsgoingonaround themwhile remaining semiconscious.Casesof

peoplestillbeingabletohearsoundswhileunderanesthesiahavebeendocumented16,butthey

tendtobesomewhatrare.Thispossibilitymightfurtherbecounteredbyfindingswhichsuggest

thatdecreasedbloodflowtothebrain(whichcouldoccurduringcardiacarrest)isassociatedwith

adeteriorationofsustainableattention17,whichwouldreducethelikelihoodofsustainingsensory

functionandthusargueagainstordinarysenseperceptionasasourceforpatientawareness.

Some proposed physiological mechanisms for NDE18, such as hypoxia and anoxia (i.e.,

decreasedorinsufficientamountsofoxygeninvitaltissue)inthebrain,couldbeappliedtocardiac

arrestcaseswhenconsideringthelikelihoodofreducedbloodflowtothebrainasaresultofthe

arrest. Episodesofhypoxia and anoxiahavebeen known toproduce experiences of euphoria,

tunnellike imagery, and floating sensations, which might account for the presence of these

featuresinsomeNDEs.However,thesemechanismsdonotseemtobeadequateforexplainingall

cardiacarrestNDEsontheirown,becauseasvanLommelandhiscolleaguespointout12,ifhypoxia

andanoxiawere thecauseof theNDEs, thenwemightexpectnearlyallpatientswho suffera

cardiacarrest

to

also

report

an

NDE,

which

is

clearly

not

the

case

from

the

numbers.

ResearcherJustineOwenshasalsoarguedthatcertainpsychologicalaspects,suchasthe

patientsownpersonal expectations,might factor into their accountofwhathappenedduring

theirNDE.8Shegivestheillustrativeexampleofamedicalemergencyscript,amentalconstruct

comprisedofanumberofimaginativeelementsthatwemighttypicallyassociatewithamedical

emergency situation. For instance,wemight expect a lotofmedicalpersonnelwillbe rushing

aboutandgatheringaroundapatientsbodyduringtheemergency,usingcertaininstrumentsto

try and revivehimorher (e.g., adefibrillator to shock theheart). This typical, common sense

imageofamedicalemergencymightslipintoapatientsaccountandinfluenceanythingtheymay

haveseenorheardwhilesemiconscious,andtherebyproducesomefalsehitsonwhatoccurred

during

the

NDE.

Yet

it

is

important

to

realize

that

such

a

script

cannot

easily

account

for

NDE

cases

inwhichthepatienthasanOBEandisabletoventurebeyondtheirroomandperceivepeopleand

eventsinotherrooms,asexemplifiedbythecaseofPeggyRaso(discussedabove).

OnevaluablethingtonoteaboutNDEcases likePeggyRasos isthattheeventsthatthe

patientwitnesseswhile being outof theirbodyhave thepotential tobe verified for accuracy

throughotherpeopleordocumentation,andforthatreason,Parniaarguesthatsuchcasesmight

be amenable to some levelofquasiexperimental study.10

He suggests thatexperimental trials

couldbesetup insomehospitalswherehiddenvisual targetsarestrategicallyplaced incritical

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careandemergencyrooms, inpositionsandatheightsthatonlyaperson lookingdownattheir

bodyfromtheceilingmightseethem(e.g.,byplacingarandomlyselectedpictureflatonashelf

suspended from the ceiling).Parniamade apreliminary attempt todo thisduringhis studyof

cardiacpatientsatSouthamptonGeneralHospital,althoughnoneoftheNDEpatientsinhisstudy

reportedhavinganOBE.11

Parniais

apparently

not

the

first

to

propose

experimental

trials

of

this

type;

Janice

Miner

HoldenoftheUniversityofNorthTexashadmadesuchaproposalnearlytwodecadesbefore.19

However,practicalissuesanddifficultyinfindinghospitalswillingandopenenoughtohostsuch

trialshadmadeherownpreliminaryattempttoconductthemchallenging,withnoreportsofan

NDE.20

Morerecently,incollaborationwiththeUniversityofVirginiaresearchers,Holdenhasbeen

able to conduct additional trials during brief moments of

controlledcardiacarrestthatarepurposelyinducedaspart

of the surgical implantation of small defibrillatortype

devices insomecardiacpatients.Butagain,noneofthe52

patientswho received thesurgery reportedanNDEduring

their brief cardiac arrest, possibly due to the amnesia

brought on by the sedative medication they were given

and/ortoreassurancesthattheywouldnotbeindangerof

dyingduringtheprocedure.21

In addition to the relatively small number ofNDEs

thatoccuramongcardiacpatients(basedontheestimateof

1023%,asmentionedabove),oneotherchallengethatmaybefacedinsuchexperimentaltrials

isthattherateofsuccessintestingOBEperceptionsduringanNDEissomewhatupintheair.A

reviewof studies inwhichOBEperceptionswereexperimentally testedgenerally indicates that

theevidence for suchperceptions tends tobe ratherweak,with someOBEparticipantsbeing

successful,whileothersarenot.22

Asone case inpoint,CharlesTart conducted six classicOBE

studieswith

two

participants:

awoman

known

as

Miss

Z.,

and

famed

OBE

experient

Robert

Monroe.23

Inasuccessfultrial,MissZ.wasapparentlyabletoseeafivedigitnumberwrittenona

piece of paper lying on a shelf high up near the ceiling, several feet above the bed shewas

sleepingon.MissZ.hadpreviouslyreportedhavingfrequentOBEsinwhichshesawherbodyfrom

apositionneartheceiling,andthistrialhadbeenatestofherperception fromthatposition.24

However,Tarthad lesssuccesswithMonroe,who, inspiteofhavingveryvividOBEs,wasnever

abletocorrectlyseethenumberduringhistrials.

OBE studies previously conducted by the Psychical Research Foundation in the 1970s

furtherillustratethechallengeintestingOBEperceptions.25

Inthosestudies,OBEparticipantKeith

Harary (then a PRF research associate and graduate student at Duke University, who was

commonly

known

by

his

nickname

Blue)

often

reported

vivid

OBEs

in

which

he

felt

that

he

had

traveled toother rooms,buthisattempts toperceive targetobjectsand letters in thoseother

roomswereoftenerroneous.

Lastly,itmightbesomewhatdifficulttogeneralizeanyfindingsthatmayresultfromtest

trials given that the number ofNDEs in cardiac arrests is so relatively small. In otherwords,

whatevertheresultsmaypossiblytellusabouttheconsciousexperienceofthepatientshaving

suchNDEs, itmaybedifficulttogeneralizetheresultstotheconsciousexperienceofallpeople

given the small numbers of patients. However, this should not take away from the potential

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benefitsofconductingsuchtrials,anditisstillanopenquestionastowhetherornotadditional

trialswillbecarriedoutinthefuture.

Acknowledgments

Mythanks

to

Mrs.

Lucyna

Ellis,

who

kindly

wrote

up

the

accounts

of

her

two

NDEs

and

made

them

available

forthisarticle.

References&Notes

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ScientificInvestigationoftheNearDeathExperience.NewYork:Coward,McCann,&Geoghegan.3Sabom,M.B.,&Kreutziger,S.A.(1978).Physiciansevaluatetheneardeathexperience.Theta,6(4),16.4Holden, J.M. (1988).Visualperceptionduring thenaturalisticneardeathoutofbodyexperience.JournalofNear

DeathStudies,7,107120.5

Cook,E.

W.,

Greyson,

B.,

&

Stevenson,

I.(1998).

Do

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near

death

experiences

provide

evidence

for

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survival

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human personality after death? Relevant features and illustrative case reports. Journal of Scientific

Exploration,12,377406.6Kelly,E.W.,Greyson,B.,&Stevenson, I. (19992000).Canexperiencesneardeath furnishevidenceof lifeafter

death?Omega:JournalofDeath&Dying,40,513519.7Lawrence,M.M.(1995).Paranormalexperiencesofpreviouslyunconsciouspatients.InL.Coly&J.D.S.McMahon

(Eds.)Proceedingsofan InternationalConference:ParapsychologyandThanatology (pp.122148).New

York:ParapsychologyFoundation,Inc.8Owens,J.E.(1995).Paranormalreportsfromastudyofneardeathexperienceandacaseofanunusualneardeath

vision.InL.Coly&J.D.S.McMahon(Eds.)ProceedingsofanInternationalConference:Parapsychologyand

Thanatology(pp.149172).NewYork:ParapsychologyFoundation,Inc.9Ring,K.,&Lawrence,M.(1993).Furtherevidenceforveridicalperceptionduringneardeathexperiences.Journalof

NearDeathStudies,223229.10Parnia, S. (2007). Do reports of consciousness during cardiac arrest hold the key to discovering the nature of

consciousness?MedicalHypotheses,69,933937.11Parnia, S.,Waller,D.G., Yeates,R.,& Fenwick, P. (2001).A qualitative and quantitative studyof the incidence,

featuresandaetiologyofneardeathexperiencesincardiacarrestsurvivors.Resuscitation,48,149156.12vanLommel,P.,vanWees,R.,Meyers,V.,&Elfferich,I.(2001).Neardeathexperienceinsurvivorsofcardiacarrest:

AprospectivestudyintheNetherlands.Lancet,358,20392045.13Greyson, B. (2003). Incidence and correlates of neardeath experiences in a cardiac care unit. GeneralHospital

Psychiatry,25,269276.14Schwaninger, J., Eisenberg, P. R., Schechtman, K. B., Weiss, A. N. (2002). A prospective analysis of neardeath

experiencesincardiacarrestpatients.JournalofNearDeathStudies,20,215232.15Owens,J.E.,Cook,E.W.,&Stevenson,I.(1990).Featuresofneardeathexperienceinrelationtowhetherornot

patientswereneardeath.Lancet,336,11751177.16

Moerman,N.,

Bonke,

B.,

&

Oosting,

J.

(1993).

Awareness

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general

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454464.17Marshall, R. S., Lazar, R. M., & Spellman, J. P. (2001). Recovery of brain function during induced cerebral

hypoperfusion.Brain,124,12081217.18Fora reviewof theseandotherproposedmechanisms, seeGreyson,B. (1998).Biological aspectsofneardeath

experiences.PerspectivesinBiologyandMedicine,42,1432.19Holden,J.M.(1988).Rationaleandconsiderationsforproposedneardeathresearchinthehospitalsetting.Journal

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20Holden,J.M.,&Joesten,L.(1990).Neardeathveridicalityresearch inthehospitalsetting:Problemsandpromise.

JournalofNearDeathStudies,9,4554.21Greyson,B.,Holden,J.M.,&Mounsey,J.P.(2006).Failuretoelicitneardeathexperiencesininducedcardiacarrest.

JournalofNearDeathStudies,25,8598.22Alvarado, C. S. (1982). ESP during outofbody experiences: A review of experimental studies. Journal of

Parapsychology,46,209230.23

Forareview

of

studies,

see

Tart,

C.

T.

(1998).

Six

studies

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out

of

body

experiences.

Journal

of

Near

Death

Studies,

17,7399.24InadditiontoOBE,wemayalsohavetoconsiderESPonthepartofMissZ.inpossiblyaccountingforhersuccessin

recallingthenumber.25Roll, W. G., & Harary, B. (1976). Target responses during outofbody experiences [Abstract]. Journal of

Parapsychology,40,53;Morris,R. L.,Harary, S.B., Janis, J.,Hartwell, J.,& Roll,W.G. (1978). Studiesof

communicationduringoutofbodyexperiences.JournaloftheAmericanSocietyforPsychicalResearch,72,1

21.

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Near-Death Experiences & Conscious Experience Article