Abstract
The neurobiological basis of near-death experiences (NDEs) is unknown, but a few studies attempted to investigate it by reproducing in laboratory settings phenomenological experiences that seem to closely resemble NDEs. So far, no study has induced NDE-like features via hypnotic modulation while simultaneously measuring changes in brain activity using high-density EEG. Five volunteers who previously had experienced a pleasant NDE were invited to re-experience the NDE memory and another pleasant autobiographical memory (dating to the same time period), in normal consciousness and with hypnosis. We compared the hypnosis-induced subjective experience with the one of the genuine experience memory. Continuous high-density EEG was recorded throughout. At a phenomenological level, we succeeded in recreating NDE-like features without any adverse effects. Absorption and dissociation levels were reported as higher during all hypnosis conditions as compared to normal consciousness conditions, suggesting that our hypnosis-based protocol increased the felt subjective experience in the recall of both memories. The recall of a NDE phenomenology was related to an increase of alpha activity in frontal and posterior regions. This study provides a proof-of-concept methodology for studying the phenomenon, enabling to prospectively explore the NDE-like features and associated EEG changes in controlled settings.
Highlights
Many experiences, ranging from an altered perception of time to a sensation of separation from the body, may reflect cases of dissociative state as they involve mental separation of components that would ordinarily be processed together as an experience
We invited a group of individuals who had already experienced a genuine near-death experiences (NDEs) to recall this event along with another emotionally positive autobiographical event dating to the same time period, in two conditions: during normal consciousness and during hypnosis
Participants had Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ43) total scores that did not differ significantly between the two memories (Z = 0.73, p = 0.46, r = −0.23; NDE: median total score = 90; range 72–94; autobiographical event (AUTOBIO): median total score = 90; range 65–94), suggesting that both memories did not differ in terms of remembered phenomenological characteristics
Summary
Many experiences, ranging from an altered perception of time to a sensation of separation from the body, may reflect cases of dissociative state as they involve mental separation of components (such as consciousness, memory, perception, and identity) that would ordinarily be processed together as an experience. Given the unfeasibility to design a scientific study where subjects would experience a NDE in real-life situations and their unpredictability, we employed hypnosis to explore the NDE phenomenon through a within-subject comparison To this end, we invited a group of individuals who had already experienced a genuine NDE to recall this event along with another emotionally positive autobiographical event dating to the same time period, in two conditions: during normal consciousness and during hypnosis. This method allowed to closely assess the experiencers’ subjective first-person phenomenological experience in parallel with state-of-the-art brain monitoring, combining the subjective experience and their neural correlates in a single setting. We show how to exploit hypnosis to provide first-person experience of a NDE phenomenology that simulates what experiencers had lived during their previous authentic experience
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