Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2022 Nov;1517(1):11-14.
doi: 10.1111/nyas.14888. Epub 2022 Aug 26.

Studying death and near-death experiences requires neuroscientific expertise

Charlotte Martial  1   2 , Olivia Gosseries  1   2 , Héléna Cassol  1 , Daniel Kondziella  3   4
Affiliations
Free article
Comment

Studying death and near-death experiences requires neuroscientific expertise

Charlotte Martial et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2022 Nov.
Free article

Abstract

Parnia et al. recently published suggestions for the study of death and experiences recalled in a near-death context. We have serious reservations about the authors' statements. In this commentary, we discuss the omissions and knowledge gaps inherent to the authors' paper, which among others include incorrect neurological claims about brain death and misunderstandings regarding the terminology of consciousness. Although we believe that (near-)death research deserves a framework guideline, the paper by Parnia and colleagues is misleading and, contrary to the authors' intention, hinders the scientific understanding of near-death experiences and the neural mechanisms occurring in the dying brain.

Keywords: cardiac arrest; consciousness; death; near-death experience; responsiveness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

REFERENCES

    1. Parnia, S., Post, S. G., Lee, M. T., Lyubomirsky, S., Aufderheide, T. P., Deakin, C. D., Greyson, B., Long, J., Gonzales, A. M., Huppert, E. L., Dickinson, A., Mayer, S., Locicero, B., Levin, J., Bossis, A., Worthington, E., Fenwick, P., & Shirazi, T. K. (2022). Guidelines and standards for the study of death and recalled experiences of death-A multidisciplinary consensus statement and proposed future directions. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1511, 5-21.
    1. Kondziella, D. (2020). The neurology of death and the dying brain: A pictorial essay. Frontiers of Neurology, 11, 736.
    1. Grigg, M. M., Kelly, M. A., Celesia, G. G., Ghobrial, M. W., & Ross, E. R. (1987). Electroencephalographic activity after brain death. Archives of Neurology, 44, 948-954.
    1. Dreier, J. P., Major, S., Foreman, B., Winkler, M. K. L., Kang, E.-J., Milakara, D., Lemale, C. L., Dinapoli, V., Hinzman, J. M., Woitzik, J., Andaluz, N., Carlson, A., & Hartings, J. A. (2018). Terminal spreading depolarization and electrical silence in death of human cerebral cortex. Annals of Neurology, 83(2), 295-310.
    1. Beecher, H. K. (1968). A definition of irreversible coma: Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Harvard Medical School to Examine the Definition of Brain Death. JAMA, 205, 337-340.