Study Says Near-death Experience is Possible

What happens after death is a mystery that none have managed to unravel. Are our minds and souls directed to a dreary tunnel or a shining ray of light? To find out, experts from the New York State University in Stony Brook surveyed over 2,000 heart patients of whom 330 had survived a cardiac arrest to note their experiences during the unconscious state. The participants were aged between 21 and 94 and all were unconcious while the doctors conducted CPR to revive their heart's functioning. 

Almost 61 percent had no memory of the time they were unconscious while the remaining clearly remembered viewing scenes that were connected to their family, animals,  possessions, fear, feeling of pleasantness and joy. These imageries like bright light separating in their body and visions of dead relatives or family members were closely or remotely linked to human perceptions about after-life.  However, only a handful of patients were able to recollect those experiences in detail and others mostly had distorted memories as they received CPR.

The researchers say the human brain can shut down for only 20 or 30 minutes during which these near-death experiences occur and it is very unlikely for people to regain consciousness when their hearts have stopped beating for longer duration.  But, death of an organ is a reversible process and can be quickly brought back to life.

"The recalled experience surrounding death merits a genuine investigation without prejudice," said Sam Parnia, study author and assistant professor of medicine at the New York State University, reports the New York Magazine.

However, the study findings are criticized and unwelcomed by other experts in the field.

"There's a reason that these events are called 'near' death experiences. The people who have near death experiences are not actually dead. In that murky grey area between life and death, the brain is still functioning on some level and can therefore experience something," said Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society, an organization devoted to debunking superstition in science.

"While it was not possible to absolutely prove the reality or meaning of patients' experiences and claims of awareness (due to the very low incidence of explicit recall of visual awareness or so-called out-of-body experiences), it was impossible to disclaim them either and more work is needed in this area. Clearly, the recalled experience surrounding death now merits further genuine investigation without prejudice," adds Parnia, reports the Medical News Today.

More information is available online in the journal Resuscitation.