Near-death experiences: What really happens?

[BridgeTheGap]

Scientists studying the brain, conciousness of people on the verge of dying -

Many reports of near-death experiences sound the same: a welcoming white light and a replay of memories. But now scientists aim to study what really happens to the brain and consciousness when someone is on the verge of dying.

In a new study called AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation), doctors will examine patients in hospitals in Europe and North America who reach a state called cardiac arrest.

"Contrary to popular perception, death is not a specific moment," said leader of the study Dr. Sam Parnia of the University of Southampton in the U.K. "It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning — a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26675999/wid/11915773?GT1=31037

[medeak]

1. My Dad just went through this

floating above his body...said "I didn't look good at all" then saw faces floating around him.

[Warpy]

2. I didn't get to the white light stage

but I did get to the part where the whole world fell away and possessions, emotions, and even pain were irrelevant.

I highly recommend the dying process. It's very nice.

It's just getting to that point that is so miserable.

[kestrel91316]

3. I had a close call when I was 24 (thrown by a horse, internal injuries).

When I was unconscious briefly, and people thought I had died because I wasn't breathing, it was like I immediately entered REM sleep with vivid dreams. I came around on my own because my heart apparently did not stop for long or at all, and it was like waking up in the morning. Very weird, but not quite the "white light and Jesus" kind of near-death thing we hear about.

[ZombieHorde]

4. Interesting.

[comrade snarky]

5. I'd like to see

Some cross cultural research on the near death experience.

Do the experiences of Thai Buddhists match match middle American Christians? Will a Maori or Aboriginal Australian have the same experience as a Fin?

Wouldn't tell us anything about the afterlife if there is one, if the reports do differ it could be the cultural influences on a brain in the shutdown process. I just think it would be massively interesting. As long as someone else does all the work then summarizes it for me in an article. :-)

[BridgeTheGap]

6. I like to think of death as an extreme wardrobe change, nothing more...n.t