“I found myself in the fabled tunnel of light. Three loving figures were waiting for me. I knew who they were. I was not afraid, but I knew that if I continued, then there would be no return.” Similar stories of near-death experiences (NDEs) have been the subject of increasingly intensive study by doctors in recent years. But it is always difficult for doctors to assess how true they are and what exactly the patient felt and saw. That is, unless they themselves are the patient.
A neuroscientist from Spain, Alex Gomez-Marin, has published an article with philosophical reflections on his own near-death experience. The author considers it one of the altered states of consciousness, which includes both lucid dreams and out-of-body travel (what we call phase states), as well as hypnosis, regression, trance, meditative, and psychedelic experiences, spiritual awakenings, etc.
In the paper, Gomez-Marin seeks to analyze what happened. Was it just a hallucination caused by a lack of proper blood supply to the brain? Or something else? If it was a physiological malfunction, why don’t all patients in similar situations experience this? On the other hand, why are so many NDE stories so similar across different countries and cultures? The author ends up formulating his main research question as follows: does the brain secrete mind like the liver secretes bile, or does it filter it like a radio when receiving electromagnetic waves?
His conclusion, albeit vague, is that we must restrain ourselves from rushing to an answer. It would be a bad idea to offer premeditated or improvised explanations, or use clichés such as “paranormal”, “supernatural,” or “pseudoscientific”. They only reveal prejudices disguised as science. According to Gomez-Marin, the job of a scientist is to study the unknown, even when it challenges their own personal beliefs.
What is the main question about NDE would you ask if you could get only one answer?
The article was published in January 2023 in the journal Organisms: Journal of Biological Sciences.
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