Near Death Experiences are when you almost die, talk to dead relatives and see a tunnel of light and such- apparently it's all in the brainstem and related to REM, like a dream. Linky
A study from the University of Kentucky has quickly gained ground among scientists as possibly the best explanation for NDEs. Researchers there theorize that the mysterious phenomenon is really an instance of the sleep disorder rapid eye movement (REM) intrusion. In this disorder, a person's mind can wake up before his body, and hallucinations and the feeling of being physically detached from his body can occur.
There's also evidence to suggest Out of Body Experiences (OBEs) can be explained-
The temporal parietal junction (TPJ) is ... the region that controls our comprehension of our own body and its situation in space. Blanke believes that a misfiring of this region is responsible for OBEs. If any of the information being sorted by the temporal parietal junction becomes crossed, like where we are in space, then we could seemingly be released from the confines of our body -- even if only for a moment.
Blanke determined that by electrically stimulating the woman's angular gyrus, a part of the temporal parietal junction, he could induce her OBEs. What's remarkable is that the patient experienced an OBE each time her angular gyrus was arbitrarily stimulated.
how stuff works link
Does that sound plausible to you? It reminds me strongly of the Persinger helmet and transcranial magnetic stimulation generally, neurobiological explanations of supernatural experiences. |
