Recalled experiences of death: the brain’s story arc

Recalled experiences of death: the brain’s story arc

A correspondence in Nature Reviews Neurology says a more accurate term proposed by a consensus of scientists is recalled experiences of death (REDs) rather than near-death experiences. The piece says REDs have been increasingly reported following advances in resuscitation and life and organ support in the 1960s. It also says these intrinsic, perceived experiences encompass around 50 themes and follow a specific narrative: a heightened, lucid inner experience despite absent signs of consciousness; separation of selfhood with visual and auditory awareness; and a meaningful and purposeful life review.

Gobble's Take: The name debate is tidy, but the narrative itself is the part that keeps refusing to stay tidy.
Source: Nature Reviews Neurology

The older phenomenology paper says the mess is the point

A 1980 A J Psychiatry paper by Bruce Greyson and Ian Stevenson describes “near-death experiences” as profound subjective events on the threshold of death, reported by people who have been seriously injured or ill but unexpectedly recovered. The paper says firsthand written or tape-recorded narratives were obtained from each case and supplemented with questionnaires when possible. It also says cultural and psychological factors, sensory deprivation, and reflex adaptive responses to stress explain some but not all features of near-death experiences, and it notes that their potential value to conceptualizing dying, suicide prevention, and the care of the terminally ill justifies further investigation.

Gobble's Take: The old paper doesn’t flatten the mystery — it basically underlines it and calls for more paperwork.
Source: Perplexity Search

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