-Caveat Lector- The Electronic Telegraph > Sunday 22 October 2000 > Soul-searching doctors find life after death > By Jonathan Petre > THE first scientific study of "near-death" experiences has found new > evidence to suggest that consciousness or the "soul" can continue to > exist after the brain has ceased to function. > The findings by two eminent doctors, based on a year-long study of > heart attack survivors, could provoke fresh controversy over that most > profound of questions: is there life after death? > > Reports of "near-death" experiences, in which people close to death > have vivid encounters with bright lights and heavenly beings, date > back centuries, but the phenomenon has been treated with scepticism by > most academics. > > The new study concludes, however, that a number of people have almost > certainly had these experiences after they were pronounced clinically > dead. This would suggest that the mind or consciousness can survive > the death of the brain - a conclusion that was hailed by clerics last > night as supporting religious faith. > > Bishop Stephen Sykes, the professor of theology at Durham University > and chairman of the Church of England's Doctrine Commission, said the > findings were "absolutely fascinating". He added: "I do not find them > surprising, however, as I believe life is much more mysterious than we > usually think it is. For theologians, the soul is far more than > consciousness or the mind. But these findings challenge the crude idea > that when a person's brain dies, that, as far as the person's > existence is concerned, is that." > > The Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Rev Geoffrey Rowell, another > commission member, said: "These near-death experiences counter the > materialist view that we are nothing more than computers made of > meat." > > Based on interviews with survivors of heart attacks at Southampton > General Hospital's cardiac unit, the new study is to be published in > the respected medical journal Resuscitation next year. > > The study's authors, Dr Peter Fenwick, a consultant neuropsychiatrist > at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, and Dr Sam Parnia, a > clinical research fellow and registrar at Southampton hospital, stress > that more research is needed. > > Dr Parnia said: "These people were having these experiences when we > wouldn't expect them to happen, when the brain shouldn't be able to > sustain lucid processes or allow them to form memories that would > last. So it might hold an answer to the question of whether mind or > consciousness is actually produced by the brain or whether the brain > is a kind of intermediary for the mind, which exists independently." > > Dr Fenwick said: "If the mind and brain can be independent, then that > raises questions about the continuation of consciousness after death. > It also raises the question about a spiritual component to humans and > about a meaningful universe with a purpose rather than a random > universe." > > During the study period, 63 cardiac arrest patients survived and were > interviewed within a week. Of those, 56 had no recollection of their > period of unconsciousness, a result that might have been expected in > all cases. > > Seven survivors, however, had memories, although only four passed the > Grayson scale, the strict medical criteria for assessing near-death > experiences. > > These four recounted feelings of peace and joy, time speeded up, > heightened senses, lost awareness of body, seeing a bright light, > entering another world, encountering a mystical being and coming to a > "point of no return". Three of them described themselves as > non-practising Anglicans while the fourth was a lapsed Roman Catholic. > > > By examining medical records, the researchers said the contention of > many critics that near-death experiences were the result of a collapse > of brain functions caused by lack of oxygen were highly unlikely. None > of those who underwent the experiences had low levels of oxygen. > > Researchers were also able to rule out claims that unusual > combinations of drugs were to blame because the resuscitation > procedure in the hospital unit was the same in every case. > > Dr Parnia, who was trained at the Guys and St Thomas' medical school, > University of London, said: "I started off as a sceptic but, having > weighed up all the evidence, I now think that there is something going > on. Essentially, it comes back to the question of whether the mind or > consciousness is produced from the brain. If we can prove that the > mind is produced by the brain, I don't think there is anything after > we die because essentially we are conscious beings. > > "If, on the contrary, the brain is like an intermediary which > manifests the mind, like a television will act as an intermediary to > manifest waves in the air into a picture or a sound, we can show that > the mind is still there after the brain is dead. And that is what I > think these near-death experiences indicate." > > Christopher French, a reader in psychology at Goldsmiths College, > University of London, said he had not seen the new study but remained > sceptical. "Near-death experiences could be pointing towards the soul > or the mind leaving the body, but they could just be the brain trying > to make sense of what is a very unusual event," he said. > > <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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