Near-death Studies - Research - History and Background

History and Background

Contributions to the research on near-death experiences have come from several academic disciplines, among these the disciplines of medicine, psychology and psychiatry. Interest in this field of study was originally spurred by the research of such pioneers as Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Raymond Moody, and George Ritchie. Moody's research was based on interviews that he conducted with Near-Death Experiencers. In 1975, while doing his medical residency as a psychiatrist at the University of Virginia, he published his findings in the book Life after Life, which brought a lot of attention to the topic of NDEs. This was soon to be followed by the establishment of the Association for the Scientific Study of Near-Death Phenomena, an initial group of academic researchers, including John Audette, Raymond Moody, Bruce Greyson, Kenneth Ring and Michael Sabom, who laid the foundations for the field of Near-death studies, and carried out some of the first post-Moody NDE research. The Association was the immediate predecessor of IANDS, the International Association for Near-death Studies, which was founded in 1981. IANDS is an international organization that encourages scientific research and education on the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual nature and ramifications of near-death experiences. Among its publications we find the peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies, and the quarterly newsletter Vital Signs. The organization also maintains an archive of near-death case histories for research and study.

Another research-organization, The Louisiana-based Near Death Experience Research Foundation, was established by radiation oncologist Jeffrey Long in 1988. The organization maintains a database of more than 1.600 cases, which is currently the worlds largest collection of Near Death Reports. In 2010 Long published his book, "Evidence of the Afterlife," which analyzes 613 NDE-cases reported on the website of his organization.

Modern day researchers, such as Bruce Greyson, Kenneth Ring, and Melvin Morse, introduced the study of Near-Death experiences to the academic setting, but the subject was often met with academic disbelief, or regarded as taboo. The medical community has been somewhat reluctant to address the phenomenon of NDEs, and grant money for research has been scarce. However, both Greyson and Ring developed measurement tools that can be used in a clinical setting. Greyson has also brought attention to the near-death experience as a focus of clinical attention, while Morse and colleagues have investigated near-death experiences in a pediatric population. van Lommel was one of the first researchers to bring the study of NDE's into the area of Hospital Medicine. In 1988 he launched a prospective study that spanned 10 Dutch hospitals. 344 survivors of cardiac arrest were included in the study. 62 patients (18%) reported NDE. 41 of these patients (12%) described a core experience. The aim of the study was to investigate the cause of the experience, and assess variables connected to frequency, depth, and content Another large, 30-month study, conducted at at University of Virginia Hospital in 2001, involving 1,595 people, found that 10 percent of cardiac-arrest patients reported near-death experiences.

On September 17, 2008, 25 UK and US hospitals doctors (from Addenbrookes in Cambridge, University Hospital in Birmingham and the Morriston in Swansea, and 9 US hospitals), announced they will examine near-death experiences in 1,500 heart attack patients-survivors. The 3 years research, co-ordinated by Southampton University, will determine if people without heartbeat or brain activity can have "out-of-body experience." Dr. Sam Parnia, an intensive care doctor, heading the research, said:

"If you can demonstrate that consciousness continues after the brain switches off, it allows for the possibility that the consciousness is a separate entity. It is unlikely that we will find many cases where this happens, but we have to be open-minded. And if no one sees the pictures, it shows these experiences are illusions or false memories. This is a mystery that we can now subject to scientific study. Contrary to popular perception, death is not a specific moment. It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning - a medical condition termed cardiac arrest. During a cardiac arrest, all three criteria of death are present. There then follows a period of time, which may last from a few seconds to an hour or more, in which emergency medical efforts may succeed in restarting the heart and reversing the dying process. What people experience during this period of cardiac arrest provides a unique window of understanding into what we are all likely to experience during the dying process."

Very few universities in the world have departments that are dedicated to study of Near-Death Experiences, but a few academic locations have had a long-standing interest in this topic. Among these we find Southampton University (U.K), and the Division of Perceptual Studies at The University of Virginia(US).