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

Introduction Basic features of near-death experiences An awareness of being dead Out-of-body experiences A tunnel of light Meeting deceased people Positive emotions Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of near- death experiences Abstract

Introduction

The notion of death to normal people − The life after life A case report of near-death experiment − DB patient during hypoglycaemia − Sleep-like state with rapid eye-movement (REM) Patients (51.7%) who recounted near-death experiences were not in medical danger, and hence death was not so. Introduction

Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

Who had had a near-death experience − Awareness of being dead (50%) − Out-of-body experience ( 24%) − Moving through a tunnel (31%) − Meeting with deceased people (32%) − Associated the experience with such positive emotions (56%) Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

An awareness of being dead − Phenomenon − Someone felt that he was dying − Scientific Explanation − Cotard syndrome (walking corpse) − The delusion of Patient LU − Cotard syndrome has been associated with the parietal cortex, as well as the prefrontal cortex − Trauma − Advanced stages of typhoid and multiple sclerosis Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

Out-of-body experiences − Phenomenon − Feelings of floating outside of the body or seeing one’s body above − Scientific Explanation − Interrupted sleep patterns that occur just prior to sleep or waking. − Sleep paralysis (40% with hypnagogia) − By stimulating right temporoparietal junction − Failure to integrate multisensory information from one’s body, which results in the disruption of the phenomenological elements of self-representation. Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

A Tunnel of Light − Phenomenon − One is moving down a dark tunnel and surfacing into a world of light. − Scientific Explanation − Hypotensive Syncope (G force) − Tunnel-like peripheral to central visual loss to develop over 5-8 seconds. − Retinal Ischemia − Glaucoma − Extreme Fear and Hypoxia Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

Meeting deceased people − Phenomenon − surrounded by the souls of the dead, angels or a religious figure in a peaceful transcendental place. − Scientific Explanation − The hallucination of Alzheimer’s or progressive Parkinson’s disease − Pallidotomy (abnormal dopamine functioning) − Angular gyrus stimulation − Macular degeneration − Charles-Bonnet syndrome − One theory is that hallucinations occur due to compensatory over-activation in brain structures nearby the damaged area or making sense of noise coming from the damaged areas. Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

Positive emotions − Phenomenon − A feeling of pure bliss, euphoria and an acceptance of death − Scientific Explanation − Ketamine using − Stimulate mu-Opium receptor(MOR) − Inhibit NMDA receptor − When animal under predatory attack, dopamine and opium system become active. Basic Features of Near-Death Experiences

Understanding The Neurobiological Mechanisms of Near-Neath Experiences

Midbrain System (1) − Locus Coeruleus − Release noradrenaline(arousal related to fear, stress, and hypercarbia) − It highly connected to regions that mediate emotion and memory − Stimulation of the noradrenaline system has been shown to enhance and consolidate memory, and plays a critical role in the sleep-wake cycle, including REM sleep. Understanding The Neurobiological Mechanisms of Near-Neath Experiences

Midbrain System (2) − Periaqueductal Gray (PAG) − A region involved in opioid analgesia and basic fear responses. Understanding The Neurobiological Mechanisms of Near-Neath Experiences

Midbrain System (3) − Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) − The core dopamine reward area mesolimbic dopamine system Understanding The Neurobiological Mechanisms of Near-Neath Experiences

Summary Vivid pleasure − Fear-elicited opioid release Life review and REM components − Action of the locus coeruleus- noradrenaline system Out-of-body experiences − Breakdown in multisensory processes Bright lights and tunneling − oxygen deprivation A priori expectations, where the individual makes sense of the situation by believing they will experience the archetypal near-death experience package, may also play a crucial role Understanding The Neurobiological Mechanisms of Near-Neath Experiences