Near-death experiences in patients with locked-in syndrome
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1
University of Liège, Cyclotron Research Centre & Neurology Department, Belgium
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2
International Association For Near Death Studies (IANDS), France
Objectives: Memories of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) most often are recounted as emotionally positive events [1-3]. At present, no satisfactory explanatory model exits to fully account for the rich phenomenology of NDEs following a severe acute brain injury [4]. Neurobiological hypotheses include cerebral hypoxia and temporal lobe dysfunctions to account for some of the features occurring during NDEs [5-7]. The particular population of patients with locked-in syndrome (LIS) provides a unique opportunity to study NDEs following infratentorial brain lesions.
Methods: We here retrospectively characterized the content of NDEs in 8 patients with LIS caused by an acute brainstem lesion (i.e., “LIS NDEs”) and 23 NDE experiencers after coma with supratentorial lesions (i.e., “classical NDEs”). Both groups were matched for age, gender, etiology and interval since NDE.
Results: Compared to “classical NDEs”, “LIS NDEs” less frequently experienced positive emotions and more frequently reported autobiographical memory flashbacks.
Conclusions: It could be hypothesized that negative NDEs might have a specific neuroanatomical substrate related to impaired pontine/paralimbic connectivity [3-4,9-11] or alternatively might be related to the emotional distress caused by the presence of conscious awareness in a paralyzed body [11].
Acknowledgements
We thank the patients, their families and the Association for Locked-in Syndrome (ALIS; France) and particularly V. Blandin and F. Pellas who helped with patient recruitment. This work was supported by the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research (FNRS), European Commission, James McDonnell Foundation, Mind Science Foundation, French Speaking Community Concerted Research Action.
References
1. Charland-Verville V, Jourdan J, Thonnard M et al (2014) Near-death experiences in non-life-threatening events and coma of different etiologies. Front Hum Neurosci 8:203
2. Greyson B (2003) Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 25(4):269-276
3. Nelson KR, Mattingly M, Lee SA, Schmitt FA (2006) Does the arousal system contribute to near death experience? Neurology 66(7):1003-1009
4. Mobbs D, Watt C (2011) There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them. Trends Cogn Sci 15(10):447-9. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2011.07.010.
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11. Sandin RH, Enlund G, Samuelsson P, Lennmarken C (2000) Awareness during anaesthesia: a prospective case study. Lancet 355(9205):707-711
Keywords:
near-death experience,
locked-in syndrome,
brainstem lesions,
Coma,
Memory,
negative emotions.
Conference:
Belgian Brain Council 2014
MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Clinical Neuroscience
Citation:
Charland-Verville
V,
Lugo
Z,
Jourdan
J and
Laureys
S
(2014). Near-death experiences in patients with locked-in syndrome.
Conference Abstract:
Belgian Brain Council 2014
MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00016
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Received:
26 Jun 2014;
Published Online:
27 Jun 2014.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Vanessa Charland-Verville, University of Liège, Cyclotron Research Centre & Neurology Department, Liège, 4000, Belgium, vanessa.charland-verville@ulg.ac.be