Recently, scientists may have found a plausible biological explanation for the collection of phenomena known popularly as "Near Death Experiences (NDE)." According to the study, people who have died and experienced the common elements associated with near death experiences like white light, a tunnel, floating above their body are actually dreaming.

"I see it as an activation of certain brain regions that are also active during the dream state," explains Dr. Kevin R. Nelson of the University of Kentucky in Louisville, in a prepared statement for a study just published in Neurology [1].

For the study, researchers compared 55 people who have had near death experiences with 55 people who had not. Near death experiences were defined by the University of Kentucky researchers as a "time during a life-threatening episode when a person undergoes an out-of-body experience, unusual alertness or sees an intense light or feels a great sense of peace."

Over 60% of the people who had near death experiences also commonly experience "REM intrusion"-dreaming during wakefulness; or more clearly stated, people who have near-death experiences are more likely to fin REM [2] -related phenomenon intruding on reality. One big question, however, remains unanswered-which came first, a genetic susceptibility to REM injection or the near death experience?

The mainstream press (ABC News [3] | The Telegraph [4] | BBC News [5] ), rather quickly jumps to debunk, citing this study to dismiss near death experiences as mere dreams.

But this only naive materialism. Neurological processes are linked to the entire field of experiences-waking and dreaming.

Nelson, however, steers clear of the larger questions entirely: "I'm interested in how this experience is generated. That's as far as I take it."

Photo: University of Virginia [6]