Mobbs, D., & Watt, C. (2011). There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: How neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(10) 447-449.

Abstract: Approximately 3% of Americans declare to have had a near-death experience [1]. These experiences classically involve the feeling that one's soul has left the body, approaches a bright light and goes to another reality, where love and bliss are all encompassing. Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that there is nothing paranormal about these experiences. Instead, near-death experiences are the manifestation of normal brain function gone awry, during a traumatic, and sometimes harmless, event.

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Topics:
Explanations of NDEs—Physiological, Neurological, Brain
Explanations of NDEs—Psychological
Science and NDEs

Nahm, M. (2009). Four Ostensible Near-Death Experiences of Roman Times with Peculiar Features: Mistake Cases, Correction Cases, Xenoglossy, and a Prediction Journal of Near-Death Studies, 27(4) 211-222.

Abstract: In this paper, I present four apparent near-death experiences (NDEs) reported in Roman times. Despite their uncertain reliability, they contain features deserving attention. Three reports involve taking the wrong person to the realm of death by mistake (‘‘mistake cases’’), and even include the claim that the correct person had died after the NDEr revived (‘‘correction cases’’). Though common in Asia, such cases are absent in contemporary Western NDE reports. The fourth report contains an alleged correct future prediction and xenoglossy, the latter being a novum to NDE research. After introducing the four cases, I discuss their peculiar features and some related aspects of near-death states with a focus on their relevance for future NDE research.

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Link: http://www.iands.org

Topics:
Characteristics of NDEs—Parapsychological Phenomena, Precognition
Characteristics of NDEs—Return, Involuntary
Characteristics of NDEs NOS
Cross-Cultural NDEs (outside the U.S.)—Western
Cross-Cultural NDEs (outside the U.S.)—non-Western
Historical Perspectives on NDEs
Interpretations of NDEs
Veridical Perception during NDEs

Nahm, M. (2009). Terminal Lucidity in People with Mental Illness and Other Mental Disability: An Overview and Implications for Possible Explanatory Models Journal of Near-Death Studies, 28(2) 87-106.

Abstract: The literature concerned with experiences of the dying contains numerous accounts reporting the sudden return of mental clarity shortly before death. These experiences can be described as Terminal Lucidity (TL). The most peculiar cases concern patients suffering from mental disability including mental illness or dementia. Despite the potential relevance of TL for developing new forms of therapies and for elaborating an improved understanding of the nature of human consciousness, very little has been published on this subject. In this paper I present a historical overview and selected case reports of TL of mentally ill or otherwise disabled patients, mainly drawing on the literature available in English and in German. Possible explanatory models of TL and their implications are discussed.

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Link: http://www.iands.org

Topics:
Nearing Death and NDEs NOS

Nahm, M. (2010). Essential Features of Eight Published Muslim Near-Death Experiences: An Addendum to Joel Ibrahim Kreps’s “The Search for Muslim Near-Death Experiences” Journal of Near-Death Studies, 29(1) 255-263.

Abstract: Among other authors, Joel Ibrahim Kreps (2009) has recently published accounts of Muslim near-death experiences (NDEs). With the present paper, we aim to contribute to the growing number of non-Western NDE reports by providing summaries of eight additional Muslim NDEs, seven translated from the original Italian source (Giovetti, 2007) and one from an English source (Lerma, 2009), and to provide references for further reading. In addition, we highlight noteworthy features of these eight summarized NDE accounts. Although the documentation standard of the available cases is generally low, these accounts indicate that the structure and contents of NDEs from many non-Western Muslim communities are largely similar to those reported in the Western NDE literature. In his report, Kreps concluded that Muslim NDEs are rare and that Muslims have fewer NDEs than do non-Muslim Westerners and non-Muslim non-Westerners such as the Chinese. However, we found that the number of Muslim NDE accounts available today seems to indicate that Muslim NDEs are not as rare as Kreps concluded.

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Link: http://www.iands.org

Topics:
Cross-Cultural NDEs (outside the U.S.)—non-Western
Religion and NDEs—Islam

Nahm, M. (2011). The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Its History and Controversial Aspects of its Contents Journal of Near-Death Studies, 29(3) 373-398.

Abstract: In recent decades, the Tibetan Book of the Dead (TBD) has attracted much attention from Westerners interested in Eastern spirituality and has been discussed in the literature on dying and near-death experiences. However, the history of the TBD has practically been ignored in that literature up to now. This history has been elaborated in detail by Tibetologist Bryan Cuevas (2003). To bring this history to the attention of scholars in the field of near-death studies, I present in this paper a summary of the TBD’s development based primarily on the work of Cuevas (2003). The summary shows that the TBD was gradually elaborated within a specific Tibetan Buddhist context, the Dzokchen tradition. In comparing features of first-hand reports of the death and dying process as reported in the TBD with those reported in four other categories—Tibetan délok, near-death experiencers, mediums, and children who remember previous lives—I find that some features are consistent but that other key features are not. Because it seems likely that inconsistent features of the TBD reflect idiosyncratic dying and afterlife concepts of the Dzokchen tradition, scholars in the field of near-death studies and others should be careful about adopting the contents of the TBD without question.

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Link: http://www.iands.org

Topics:
Afterlife, Belief in
Related Experiences—NDE-Like
Related Experiences NOS
Religion and NDEs—Buddhism