Near-death experiences: A neurophysiologic explanatory model

@article{Morse1989NeardeathEA,
  title={Near-death experiences: A neurophysiologic explanatory model},
  author={Melvin L. Morse and David Venecia and Jerrold M. Milstein},
  journal={Journal of Near-Death Studies},
  year={1989},
  volume={8},
  pages={45-53}
}
Prior hypotheses as to the etiology of near-death experiences (NDEs) have been limited to psychiatric explanations or brief discussions of endorphins as causative agents. We present a neurophysiological explanation for NDEs based on their similarities with lysergic acid-, ketamine-, and hypercapnia-induced hallucinations. We believe the core NDE is genetically imprinted and triggered by serotonergic mechanisms. 
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73 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
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73 Citations

Semiology and Mechanisms of Near-Death Experiences
TLDR
Recent prospective studies confirm that NDEs reflect a spectrum of highly distinctive memories which are associated with negative or positive emotions and can be influenced by the nature of the causal event, but the temporal sequence with which these images unfold is variable.
Near-Death Experiences and the Theory of the Extraneuronal Hyperspace
It is possible and desirable to supplement the traditional neurological and metaphysical explanatory models of the near-death experience (NDE) with yet a third type of explanatory model that links…
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This article exposes the concept of death, the difference between clinic death and vital death. A brief history about near death experiences (NDE) and their main characteristics. Which NDE changing…
Neurochemical models of near-death experiences: A large-scale study based on the semantic similarity of written reports
Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness
The near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention.
  • B. Greyson
  • Psychology, Medicine
    The Journal of nervous and mental disease
  • 1997
TLDR
The inclusion of this new diagnostic category in the DSM-IV permits differentiation of NDEs and similar experiences from mental disorders and may lead to research into more effective treatment strategies.
Biological Aspects of Near-Death Experiences
  • B. Greyson
  • Medicine, Psychology
    Perspectives in biology and medicine
  • 1998
TLDR
Near-death experiences are important to physicians not only because they may occur to patients while under the authors' care, but because they often lead to profound aftereffects that may affect health and response to medical treatments.
DMT Models the Near-Death Experience
TLDR
A significant overlap in nearly all of the NDE phenomenological features is found when comparing DMT-induced NDEs with a matched group of ‘actual’ NDE experiencers, and a striking similarity between these states that warrants further investigation is revealed.
“Reality” of near-death-experience memories: evidence from a psychodynamic and electrophysiological integrated study
TLDR
The findings suggest that, at a phenomenological level, NDE memories cannot be considered equivalent to imagined memories, and at a neural level,NDE memories are stored as episodic memories of events experienced in a peculiar state of consciousness.
Near-Death Experiences and the Possibility of Disembodied Consciousness Challenges to Prevailing Neurobiological and Psychosocial Theories
Claims from those having near-death experiences (NDEs), as well as those sympathetic to such claims, challenge the prevailing assumption that consciousness is dependent on a functioning brain. Extant…
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