Post by Mr. Jon Donnis on Aug 13, 2013 6:07:07 GMT
Some believe they have caught a glimpse of the afterlife, others claim to have floated above their body, watching as medics save their lives.
But the reality of near-death experiences may be much more prosaic.
Research suggests that far from being a brush with the afterlife, they are caused by a rush of electrical activity in the dying brain.
In experiments on rats whose hearts had stopped, the pattern of activity was similar to that seen when the animals were fully conscious.
However, the signals were up to eight times stronger. The researchers said that the discovery that the brain is highly active in the seconds after the heart stops suggests that the phenomenon has a physical, rather than spiritual nature.
It has been argued that the dying brain is incapable of such complex activity and so near-death experiences must have their origins in the soul.
It suggests something happens at the brink of death that pushes the conscious brain to a high level of arousal, potentially triggering the visions and sensations associated with near-death experiences (NDEs).
As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.
Typically NDEs involve travelling through a tunnel towards an intense light, being separated from the body, encountering long-departed loved ones or angels and undergoing some kind of judgment of 'life review.
Some emerge from NDEs as transformed individuals with a completely altered outlook on life, or a new belief in religion.
But many scientists believe near-death-experiences are nothing more than hallucinations induced by the effect of the brain shutting down.
Read More - www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2390236/Near-death-experiences-exposed-Surge-brain-activity-heart-stops-trigger-paranormal-visions.html
But the reality of near-death experiences may be much more prosaic.
Research suggests that far from being a brush with the afterlife, they are caused by a rush of electrical activity in the dying brain.
In experiments on rats whose hearts had stopped, the pattern of activity was similar to that seen when the animals were fully conscious.
However, the signals were up to eight times stronger. The researchers said that the discovery that the brain is highly active in the seconds after the heart stops suggests that the phenomenon has a physical, rather than spiritual nature.
It has been argued that the dying brain is incapable of such complex activity and so near-death experiences must have their origins in the soul.
It suggests something happens at the brink of death that pushes the conscious brain to a high level of arousal, potentially triggering the visions and sensations associated with near-death experiences (NDEs).
As many as a fifth of people who survive cardiac arrests report having had an other-worldly experience while being 'clinically' dead.
Typically NDEs involve travelling through a tunnel towards an intense light, being separated from the body, encountering long-departed loved ones or angels and undergoing some kind of judgment of 'life review.
Some emerge from NDEs as transformed individuals with a completely altered outlook on life, or a new belief in religion.
But many scientists believe near-death-experiences are nothing more than hallucinations induced by the effect of the brain shutting down.
Read More - www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2390236/Near-death-experiences-exposed-Surge-brain-activity-heart-stops-trigger-paranormal-visions.html