Greyson, B. (2007). Consistency of near-death experience accounts over two decades: Are reports embellished over time? Resuscitation, 73(3) 407-411.

Abstract: Aim: ‘‘Near-death experiences,’’ commonly reported after clinical death and resuscitation, may require intervention and, if reliable, may elucidate altered brain functioning under extreme stress. It has been speculated that accounts of near-death experiences are exaggerated over the years. The objective of this study was to test the reliability over two decades of accounts of near-death experiences. Methods: Seventy-two patients with near-death experience who had completed the NDE Scale in the 1980s (63% of the original cohort still alive) completed the scale a second time, without reference to the original scale administration. The primary outcome was differences in NDE scale scores on the two administrations. The secondary outcome was the statistical association between differences in scores and years elapsed between the two administrations. Results: Mean scores did not change significantly on the total NDE scale, its 4 factors, or its 16 items. Correlation coefficients between scores on the two administrations were significant at p < .001 for the total NDE scale, for its 4 factors, and for its 16 items. Correlation coefficients between score changes and time elapsed between the two administrations were not significant for the total NDE scale, for its 4 factors, or for its 16 items. Conclusion: Contrary to expectation, accounts of near-death experiences, and particularly reports of their positive affect, were not embellished over a period of almost two decades. These data support the reliability of near-death experience accounts.

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Topics:
Characteristics of NDErs—Age, Adults
Characteristics of NDErs NOS
Characteristics of NDEs—Autoscopy, Out-of-Body
Characteristics of NDEs—Emotions, Pleasurable
Characteristics of NDEs—Encountering Beings, Deceased or Living
Characteristics of NDEs—Encountering Beings, Spiritual
Characteristics of NDEs—Increased Knowledge, Thoughts
Characteristics of NDEs—Life Review
Characteristics of NDEs—Light, Mystical
Characteristics of NDEs—Otherworldly Environments
Characteristics of NDEs—Parapsychological Phenomena, ESP
Characteristics of NDEs—Parapsychological Phenomena, Precognition
Characteristics of NDEs—Perception of Time
Characteristics of NDEs—Return NOS
Characteristics of NDEs—Sensory NOS
Interpretations of NDEs
Methodology in NDE Research

Greyson, B. (2007). Near-death experience: Clinical implications Revista de Psiquiatria Clinica, 34(Suppl. 1) 116-125.

Abstract: Background: When some people come close to death, they report a profound experience of transcending the physical world that often leads to spiritual transformation. These “near-death experiences” (NDEs) are relevant to clinicians because they lead to changes in beliefs, attitudes, and values; they may be mistaken for psychopathological states, although producing different sequelae requiring different therapeutic approaches; and because they may enhance our understanding of consciousness. Objectives: This literature review examined the evidences regarding explanations proposed to explain NDEs, including expectation, birth memories, altered blood gases, toxic or metabolic hallucinations, and neurochemical and neuroanatomical models. Methods: The literature on NDEs of the past 30 years was examined comprehensively, including medical, nursing, psychological, and sociological databases. Results: NDEs typically produce positive changes in attitudes, beliefs, and values, but may also lead to interpersonal and intrapsychic problems. These problems have been compared to various mental disorders, but are distinguishable from them. Various therapeutic strategies have been proposed to help experiencers with problematic aftereffects, but have not been tested yet. Conclusions: The mystical consciousness and higher mental activity during NDEs, when the brain is severely impaired, challenge current models of brain/mind interaction and may occasionally lead to more complete models for the understanding of consciousness.

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Topics:
Altered States and NDEs
Counseling NDErs
Education about NDEs
Explanations of NDEs—Physiological, Neurological, Brain
Explanations of NDEs NOS
Health Care Professionals and NDEs—Medical
Health Care Professionals and NDEs—Psychological
Health Care Professionals and NDEs—Social Workers
Health Care Professionals and NDEs—Spiritual (chaplains, clergy)
Science and NDEs

Greyson, B. (2010). Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2(1) 37-45.

Abstract: Classical physics, anchored in materialist reductionism, offered adequate descriptions of everyday mechanics but ultimately proved insufficient for describing the mechanics of extremely high speeds or small sizes, and was supplemented nearly a century ago by quantum physics, which includes consciousness in its formulation. Materialist psychology, modeled on the reductionism of classical physics, likewise offered adequate descriptions of everyday mental functioning but ultimately proved insufficient for describing mentation under extreme conditions, such as the continuation of mental function when the brain is inactive or impaired, such as occurs near death. “Near-death experiences” include phenomena that challenge materialist reductionism, such as enhanced mentation and memory during cerebral impairment, accurate perceptions from a perspective outside the body, and reported visions of deceased persons, including those not previously known to be deceased. Complex consciousness, including cognition, perception, and memory, under conditions such as cardiac arrest and general anesthesia, when it cannot be associated with normal brain function, require a revised psychology anchored not in 19th-century classical physics but rather in 21st-century quantum physics that includes consciousness in its conceptual formulation.

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Topics:
Altered States and NDEs
Explanations of NDEs—Physiological, Neurological, Brain
Explanations of NDEs NOS
Mental Processes and NDEs
Science and NDEs
Theories, NDE-Related, Psychological NOS

Greyson, B. (2010). Seeing dead people not known to have died: "Peak in darien" experiences Anthropology and Humanism, 35(2) 159-171.

Abstract: The ubiquitous belief that, after death, our consciousness might persist in some discarnate form is fueled in part by phenomena like near-death experiences (NDEs) and deathbed visions, mystical experiences reported on the threshold of death. Some NDEs, called “Peak in Darien” experiences, include visions of deceased people who are not known at the time to be dead. Cases of this kind provide some of the most persuasive evidence for the survival of consciousness after bodily death.

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Topics:
Afterlife, NDErs’ Descriptions of
Altered States and NDEs
Characteristics of NDEs—Encountering Beings, Deceased or Living
Nearing Death and NDEs—Deathbed Visions

Greyson, B., Holden, J. M., & Mounsey, J. P. (2006). Failure to elicit near-death experiences in induced cardiac arrest Journal of Near-Death Studies, 25(2) 85-98.

Abstract: Persons reporting near-death experiences (NDEs) sometimes describe a sense of having been out of their bodies and observing their surroundings from a visual perspective outside of and above their bodies. We attempted to study such phenomena during the surgical implantation of automatic implantable cardioverters/defibrillators (ICDs), electrical devices that monitor the patient's heartbeat and automatically detect cardiac arrest and administer an electrical shock to return the heart to normal rhythm. When ICDs are implanted in a patient's chest, cardiac arrest is induced under closely monitored conditions, in order to test the ICD's sensitivity and effectiveness. This study was designed to investigate the accuracy of out-of-body perceptions during NDEs that occur during these induced cardiac arrests. A computer in the operating room displayed quasi-randomly-selected unusual visual targets so that they were visible only from above eye level, from a visual perspective looking down upon the body of the unconscious patient. In a series of 52 induced cardiac arrests, no patient reported having had a near-death experience, and none reported a sense of having left the physical body or observing from an out-of-body visual perspective. This failure to find a single NDE in 52 induced cardiac arrests may have been due to preoperative reassurances that patients would not be in danger of dying, the brief duration of the induced cardiac arrest, or the amnestic effects of pre-anesthetic sedative medication.

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Link: http://www.iands.org

Topics:
Circumstances of NDEs—Hospital
Circumstances of NDEs—Illness
Methodology in NDE Research
Veridical Perception during NDEs