F11.1 Continuity of Consciousness

Continuity of Consciousness
Pim van Lommel, MD
Part 1 of 2

In my lecture I will discuss the prospective design and the results of our Dutch study on near-death experience (NDE). I will discuss several universal elements that can be experienced during the NDE, and their implication for our concept, how consciousness and memories could be experienced outside the body during a temporarily non-functioning brain.
How is consciousness related to the integrity of brain function? I will explain some neurophysiology of brain function during cardiac arrest and in a normal functioning brain. I will talk about some aspects of quantum mechanics in trying to understand the essence of our consciousness, and its relation with the brain and with our continuously changing body.