Attached is blurb on a new Dutch study of NDEs. The only thing that strikes me as new or interesting is the claim that they observed NDEs in the absence of brain activity and seem to claim that as evidence for a mind/soul-body dualism and possible life after death. As an orthodox and unrepentant materialist, this bothers me. So...... 1)Does anyone know how they can confirm a complete lack of brain activity? 2)What are the chances that a brain (aside from one under hypothermia) could have no measurable activity and then recover? 3)If there was, in fact, no brain activity at some point, how could they tell that the NDE in fact occurred at that point in time corresponding to the lack of brain activity? (I think I know the answer to #3 but I want o hear others' opinions. Ed <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> <<...OLE_Obj...>> Back from brink patients 'prove the soul exists' By Jonathan Petre (Filed: 09/12/2001) NEW evidence that patients whose hearts stop beating can experience a form of afterlife is to be published this week, supporting the view that the mind - or soul - can survive death. Doctors who studied 344 heart attack survivors found that more than one in 10 had experienced emotions, visions or lucid thoughts while they were "clinically dead" - unconscious with no signs of pulse, breathing or brain activity. Some reported having "out-of-body" experiences. The research, by a Dutch team, is to be published in Britain's leading medical journal, the Lancet. It will be seized on by academics who believe that the mind can continue to work after the brain has stopped. Church leaders will cite it as evidence for the existence of a soul. The two-year study in 10 Dutch hospitals found that 12 per cent of cardiac arrest survivors reported having various "near-death experiences" (NDEs) before being resuscitated. One said he had floated out of his body and watched doctors as they removed his dentures before putting a tube down his throat as part of efforts to revive him. The research, led by Professor Pim Van Lommel, coincides with the findings of a new British survey, saying that 10 per cent of people questioned thought they had experienced the sensation of floating out of their bodies. The study, conducted by Opinion Research Business in November among a representative sample of 1,002 people, produced similar results to previous surveys in America. Sixty per cent of respondents said they were aware of out-of-body experiences and only 13 per cent did not believe these could happen. For centuries, people have been reporting having near-death experiences but, until recently, these claims have never been scientifically tested, and the phenomenon has been treated with scepticism by most academics. Experiences have included feelings of peace and joy, a speeding-up of time, heightened senses, lost awareness of body, entering another world, encountering a mystical being and reaching a "point of no return". The latest Dutch research is the most extensive scientific study of the phenomenon, and supports the findings of a smaller project at Southampton Hospital, completed last year. It used the latest medical equipment to confirm no signs of pulse or brain activity in the patients who reported near-death experiences. Researchers say they should not have been able to perceive anything, and that their recollections are too structured to be hallucinations. The phenomenon defies normal medical explanation. The Dutch study found that cardiac arrest survivors who had had a near-death experience subsequently tended to have a more spiritual approach to life - and less fear of death - than those who had not. Dr Peter Fenwick, a consultant neuropsychiatrist at London University, who was the joint author of the Southampton study, said: "The Dutch research is very exciting because it confirms our findings. We now know that NDEs do occur and do so when the person is in a coma, so we have to examine the question as to whether mind and brain are the same." He added: "If the mind and brain can be independent, then that raises questions about the continuation of consciousness after death. It also raises questions about a spiritual component to humans and about a meaningful universe with a purpose rather than a random universe." In a paper to be published next year by the medical journal Resuscitation, Dr Fenwick's fellow author, Dr Sam Parnia, a clinical research fellow at Southampton University, argues that consciousness "might actually be a fundamental scientific entity in its own right, irreducible to anything more basic. "This concept has been proposed to be similar to the discovery of electromagnetic phenomenon in the 19th century, or quantum mechanics in the 20th century." Sceptics argue, however, that the experiences are generated by the brain as it faces the trauma of death. Dr Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, said: "When people are dying there are severe stresses being placed on the brain and the body that could result in the type of experiences we are hearing about. "It is curious that near-death experience is described by lots of people, including those who are not actually dying, they just think they are. People who think they are chronically ill when this is not the case will also describe the experience. "There could just be a normal explanation for it. When we are under stress the brain will produce endorphins which give us a sense of peace and well being. "That still isn't evidence of life after death," added Dr Wiseman. "It just means that we don't understand as much about the brain and the body as we thought we did." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Graduate Coordinator, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Department of Psychology, West Chester Univ. of Pennsylvania ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and herpetoculturist ( http://www.adcham.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shameless self promotion: The Mill Creek Bluegrass Band performs every Tuesday night at Dugal's Inn, Mortonville, 8 miles west of West Chester, PA. Call 610- 486-0953 for directions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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