Study into near-death experiences

By Jane Dreaper
Health correspondent, BBC News

A large study is to examine near-death experiences in heart attack patients.

Doctors at 25 UK and US hospitals will study 1,500 survivors to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have "out of body" experiences.

Some people report seeing a tunnel or bright light, others recall looking down from the ceiling at medical staff.

The study, due to take three years and co-ordinated by Southampton University, will include placing on shelves images that could only be seen from above.


To test this, the researchers have set up special shelving in resuscitation areas. The shelves hold pictures - but they're visible only from the ceiling.

Dr Sam Parnia, who is heading the study, 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."

Dr Parnia works as an intensive care doctor, and felt from his daily duties that science had not properly explored the issue of near-death experiences.


Process of death

He said: "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."

Dr Parnia and medical colleagues will analyse the brain activity of 1,500 heart attack survivors, and see whether they can recall the images in the pictures.

Hospitals involved include Addenbrookes in Cambridge, University Hospital in Birmingham and the Morriston in Swansea, as well as nine hospitals in the US.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/7621608.stm

Published: 2008/09/18 05:00:51 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

英美科學家開始檢驗“臨死體驗”
美英兩國醫生展開一項大型研究，檢驗心臟病患者的“臨死體驗”或稱“接近死亡體驗”（Near-death Experience）。
來自英國和美國25家醫院的醫生將對1500名心臟病倖存者進行研究，以觀察人們在沒有心跳或腦活動的情況下是否會有靈魂脫殼的體驗。
一些心臟病突發倖存者在經歷了臨死體驗後說，他們曾看到一個隧道或亮光，也有患者回憶說從急救室的天花板往下看，看到搶救自己的醫護人員。
研究方法
要測試這一效果，研究人員在手術台附近擺放特殊的架子。架子上放著不同的圖畫，這些圖畫只能從天花板往下看才能看到。
負責這項研究的帕尼亞醫生說，如果你能顯示在大腦停止運作之後仍有知覺的話，這就可能顯示知覺是一種獨立的實體。
他說，我們不大可能找到許多這樣的案例。如果沒有一個病人能看到這些圖畫的話，那就說明這些臨死體驗只不過是一種幻覺或虛假的記憶。
帕尼亞是一名急救醫生，他從自己日常的工作中體會到臨死體驗並沒有得到恰當的探討。
死亡過程
他說，與人們普遍的認識不同的是，死亡並不是一個具體的時刻。
它是一個過程。它從心臟停止跳動，肺部停止工作，大腦停止運作開始。醫學上管這叫作“心臟停搏”。
在心臟停搏過程中，所有三個死亡標誌都出現了。在那之後有一段時間，急救人員可能會成功恢復患者的心肺功能，扭轉死亡的過程。這段時間可能是幾秒鐘，也可能超過一小時。
病人在這段時間裡經歷的東西可能會為我們瞭解臨死體驗打開一個獨特的窗口。
帕尼亞醫生和他的同事將分析1500名心臟病倖存者的大腦活動，看他們是否能夠回憶出擺放在急救室裡的這些圖畫。
這項由英國南安普頓大學協調的研究將持續三年。
BBC中文網報導
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/chinese/trad/hi/newsid_7620000/newsid_7623100/7623138.stm
已列印 2008/09/18 12:34:50 GMT© BBC MMVIII