Science tackles the issue of Life after Death,

Asiaprod

Here is an interesting new study that was conducted on life after death, should be a lot of interesting stuff to talk about here.

Light at end of the tunnel over near death experiences


Some describe a journey along a tunnel towards a light. Many say the light exudes warmth and forgiveness. Others report that gazing down on themselves in an operating theatre made them certain of life after death.
Throughout history, there have been accounts of people experiencing visions on the brink of death, what are now called near-death experiences. There are dozens of books and films on the subject, even a Journal of Near Death Studies in America, and a conference planned this October in Houston, Texas.
Today, new evidence is published that backs the idea that the near-death experience is a biological experience, rather than anything to do with a larger, spiritual dimension, a glimpse of heaven, or the existence of the soul.
People who have had near- death experiences are able to slip into dream sleep more easily than those who have not had one, according to a study published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
"I see it as an activation of certain brain regions that are also active during the dream state," said Prof Kevin Nelson, a neurologist and lead study author, from the University of Kentucky, Lexington.
"However, I hesitate to call it dreaming or dreaming while awake. This is the first testable hypothesis of a biological basis for these experiences."
For his study, a near-death experience was defined as a time during a life-threatening episode when a person experienced a variety of feelings, including a sense of being outside of one's body, unusual alertness, seeing an intense light, and a feeling of peace.
The study compared 55 people with near-death experiences with 55 people of the same age and gender who had not had them.
It found that people with near-death experiences were more likely to have a sleep-wake system in which the boundaries between sleep and wakefulness were not as clearly regulated, and the dream sleep state - when there is rapid eye movement - can intrude into normal wakeful consciousness.
Examples of "REM intrusion" include waking up and feeling that you cannot move - sleep paralysis - having sudden muscle weakness in your legs, and hearing sounds just before falling asleep or just after waking up that other people cannot hear.
Of the people with near- death experiences, 60 per cent reported REM intrusion, compared with 24 per cent of people who had not had near-death experiences.
"These findings suggest that REM-state intrusion contributes to near-death experiences," said Prof Nelson.
Prof Nelson said other factors supported this. Several features of near-death experiences are also associated with the dream state, for example, the feeling of being outside of one's body and being surrounded by light.
Because the brain turns off the body's ability to move during dreaming, muscles can lose their tone, or tension.
"During a crisis that occurs with REM-state intrusion, this lack of muscle tone could reinforce a person's sense of being dead and convey the impression of death to other people," Prof Nelson said.
He added that a biological explanation was "spiritually neutral". "We, as neurologists, address the how of these experiences coming about but not the why," he said.

Dades

Interesting.

I suppose for anyone who is be sceptical about near death experiences, that theory backs up the notion that it is simply the mind playing tricks.

It doesn't stop the experience from being very real and emotional I guess, and I'd imagine you'd find it hard to convince a Christian (or other) who's experienced a NDE that it was basicaly a dream.

A light 'exuding forgiveness' does sound cool though. Must get one of them for the fridge.

Asiaprod

The Atheist wrote:

A light 'exuding forgiveness' does sound cool though. Must get one of them for the fridge.

Why stop at the fridge, I'm ordering a whole crate;)

But it is interesting when we take the recent studies on pray into account. Seems like there is currently a real drive on for clarity and resolution on the realities we hold dear. Thats a good thing.

jtsuited

Asiaprod wrote:

He added that a biological explanation was "spiritually neutral". "We, as neurologists, address the how of these experiences coming about but not the why," he said.

Wow the new christian right really do seem to be scaring people. This such a 'don't start protesting against us, you christian nuts' disclaimer.

RotalicaV

What causes you to jump just before you get to sleep, or when you're half asleep.

You know, the falling off building jump you get sometimes.

Rev Hellfire

jtsuited wrote:

Wow the new christian right really do seem to be scaring people. This such a 'don't start protesting against us, you christian nuts' disclaimer.

I think you're paranoid. He's merely setting the research in its proper context least it be used to prove or disprove some spirtual aspect. Which in a way is what is happening here.

Dades

Rev Hellfire wrote:

I think you're paranoid. He's merely setting the research in its proper context least it be used to prove or disprove some spirtual aspect. Which in a way is what is happening here.

I don't think they are concerned about it taken out of context.
I mean - what other way of taking that research is there?

I believe they are simply taking the neutral ground. Whatever spiritual conclusions are drawn from it are not strictly their concern.

Son Goku

RotalicaV wrote:

What causes you to jump just before you get to sleep, or when you're half asleep.

You know, the falling off building jump you get sometimes.

Basically you start to fall asleep and begin dreaming with your conscious mind still slightly active.
(Usually your subconscious takes part in dreams.)

Eventually you trip on a stone, let's say, in the dream. At that point your conscious mind goes "Holy ****, I'm going to fall" and quickly reacts which wakes you up.

Scofflaw

RotalicaV wrote:

What causes you to jump just before you get to sleep, or when you're half asleep.

You know, the falling off building jump you get sometimes.

See here.

The "dream" of hitting something is, I think, an interpretation of the relaxation of your muscles you get when you're falling asleep, rather than the other way around.


cordially,
Scofflaw

Son Goku

Scofflaw wrote:

See here.

The "dream" of hitting something is, I think, an interpretation of the relaxation of your muscles you get when you're falling asleep, rather than the other way around.


cordially,
Scofflaw

Thanks for the link.
Dreaming is one of the coolest areas of cognitive science.
I think we've so much to learn from it, especially considering how much it goes against the notion of the consciousness as a holistic entity.