Near-death experiences, or NDE, are what scientists call the subjective experiences of a person who survived a life-threatening situation.
Approximately 10% of people who find themselves in a life-threatening situation have experienced near-death experiences. This is evidenced by the results of a study conducted by a group of scientists from Denmark, Norway and Germany.
Their findings were presented at a congress of the European Academy of Neurology, TSN reports.
It is noted that the International Association for the Study of near-death experiences, which studies people who were on the verge of death, uses the Grayson scale to assess such experiences.
It describes 16 typical near-death sensations: a feeling of mystical admiration, leaving the body, moving through a tunnel, feeling the presence of supernatural beings nearby, etc. The intensity of each of them is estimated from 0 to 2 points, which are then summed up.
The researchers interviewed 1,034 volunteers from 35 countries. 289 respondents said they felt on the verge of death. 106 scored more than 7 points on the Grayson scale, which indicated that their experiences were not fictional.
87% of the respondents reported an abnormal perception of time, 65% – an increase in the speed of thought, 63% – a sharp aggravation of feelings, 53% – a feeling of leaving the body.
73% of people said that near-death experiences were unpleasant, and 27% of volunteers liked the experience. However, among participants who scored more than 7 points on the Grayson scale, 53% positively assessed the near-death experience.
“Near-death experiences and visions are associated with brain changes in conditions of hypoxia, lack of glucose and cell death. Research into the brain during and after death continues.
“It was found that after cardiac arrest, the brain of rats demonstrates high-frequency activity characteristic of the state of cognitive processes within 30 seconds after cardiac arrest.
“Flashes of gamma waves that are observed in rats after cardiac arrest are identical to those observed when solving tasks that require maximum concentration, cover the entire brain and synchronize in different areas. Perhaps these results apply to other mammals, including humans,” the report says.
