Are Near-Death Experiences Real? BBC Sounds, BBC World Service, Editor: Ben Motley, Presenter: Caroline Steel.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct6stl

People I know have started voting with their body. I attended a Catholic funeral on Friday. A girl I used to know. Bernie Porter that’s no longer a girl. No longer anything. Her mum was my godmother. Both are dead. Both received Roman Catholic funeral rites. Mass and the bit at the end, where her coffin is carried out of the church, by her ex-husband and son. Her coffin is put in the ground. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Life everlasting.

Most people now don’t bother with that kind of thing, they term religious hokum. My partner, for example, just wants cremated. No fuss. If there’s a ceremony, it’s conducted by a stranger. He or she says a wee bit about the deceased. Usually there’s a funny bit. Everyone laughs. Some people cry. Everyone goes home. Life goes on.

Near Death Experiences (NDEs) are somewhere between this dichotomy. Mystical art or science is another kind of duality. I’ve always found it fascinating. Paul Tait (The Bad Guru) heard voices when he took (magic) mushrooms. The voice was that of his dead uncle. Later he met God and the Devil. His was a template in which NDEs can be explained by the way the body and mind works. Like Saul, who later became Paul the Apostle, he claims the duality of heaven come to earth with a message. The message is you’re out of time. Out of fashion in the modern world that doesn’t believe or doesn’t care. Read on.

Notes.  

Kayleigh in the US, describing what it’s like to have a Near Death Experience (NDE).

They sound mythical or magical. We want to investigate the science behind them.

Psychologist Susan Blackmore once had an out-of-body experience as a student in Oxford, UK — floating above herself before soaring over the rooftops and dissolving into the universe. ‘Where are you Sue?’ That single moment changed everything. She’s spent her career—the last 50 years—trying  to understand what happened, and she believes such experiences are explainable.

A bit messy. The same experiences don’t have to be near-death.

Raymond Moody’s book 1974 or 1975? Sudden rush to define.

Sue had an out-of-body experience that can be part of a near-death experience.

Kayleigh had a heart-attack. I saw this bright light. This tunnel of sorts. My essence or soul, felt as if it was separating from my body. After that sometimes a life review? I saw everything from the moment I was born, until that moment I died. And, finally, there’s going into other worlds. I essentially headed towards this light, until I was no longer in the house. I was in some different realm. And then, there can be a decision to return. And we get the sense that… I want to go back for any number of reasons. I knew that if I continued towards this light I would no longer have the ability to go back to my life and body. That would be it.

Most experiences are shorter than that.

NDEs vary. But there are some patterns. Some people experience just one of these things. Others, like Kayleigh, experience it all.

After I had the life review. I was back on that boundary of no return. Then I had to turn around and go back home to my body. Then, so when I went back, I ended up back in my bed.

I think the most bizarre part was how emotionally changed I felt.

Sue charted NDE’s aftereffects. Very often, people are changed by these experiences. Typically, they’re changed for the better. They become less afraid of death. And think, that’s the way it’s going to be. I’ll really carry on.

But more interesting it tends to change people’s attitude to what it important in life. People become more compassionate. More interested in their family and friends. Less interested in money and status and power.

I used to be such a miserable person. Upset because of the things in my life that didn’t go according to my plan. Or, you know, not having the best luck in life. And now I have a completely different perspective.

Well, when I had the life review. A good chunk of them are positive, exciting experiences. But a good chunk of them are negative experiences.

And in the more impactful one’s. I was no longer looking at those moments on a movie screen. It was as if I shifted from the third person. Into the memory itself. And I inhabited my body. And the people that were in those negative memories—I not only felt every emotion I was feeling in that moment, but got a life-review of sorts (we are each other) of their lives. I experienced every emotion they had in their life. Until that point they were doing me wrong in some shape or form. And when I came out, it wasn’t as if I’d some omniscient knowledge of knowing why you are the way you are (ha, ha). Or why you’re such a bad person. It wasn’t like that. There was a sense that I did know why they were the way they were, or why they acted in those ways, but it gave me a lot of hope, that maybe my life is meant to be greater than I previously thought.

Is there really a mystical tunnel leading to the light? Or is it a construction of our brains?

NDEs hard to study. Require peering inside somebody’s brain, just before death.

At the University of Michigan in the US, neuroscientist Professor Jimo Borjigin has done what few have dared: record the dying brain in action. All four patients died after the ventilator was removed.  Her studies show that even after the heart stops, the brain can produce powerful surges of coordinated activity, GAMA activity—the fastest brain waves, in two patients—bursts that might explain the lights, the tunnels, and the sense of peace. She believes near-death experiences could become one of science’s most intriguing scientific frontiers for research into consciousness.

Delta waves lowest frequency. Associated with unconscious activity, like heartbeats.

Gamma highest. Govern things like cognitive functioning and learning. Consciousness.

When you’re learning new things, gamma activity increases.

Does that suggest more consciousness? Yes, to me.

Two of the patients become more conscious. And this heightened state lasted for an incredible long time. Seven minutes in patient one (before flat lining). Twenty minutes for patient two.

To make an educated guess of what was happening, Jimo looked at which brain regions were most active.

Several parts of the brain, involved in visual perception. Visual cortex, alight.

Could the patients be seeing a tunnel or bright lights?

This would be consistent with reports of millions of survivors who (self) reported NDEs.

Consistent of our report of strong activation of visual cortex. (tick).

Other gamma areas of high activation. Temporal lobes. Associated with memory. Located somewhere between our temples and ears.

Jimo believes this may provide evidence that her patients were looking back on their lives?  

Two junctions. Right parietal.

Left, more important for speech/perception.

Right side, associated with (so called) empathy is created.  The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) — a brain region at the boundary of the temporal and parietal lobes.

 What is the Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ)?

• Location: The TPJ lies at the posterior end of the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure), where the temporal lobe meets the parietal lobe .
• Connections: It integrates input from the thalamus, limbic system, and sensory systems (visual, auditory, somatosensory)
• Function: Acts as a hub for combining information from the external environment and internal body states 

Key Functions

• Attention & Salience Detection: Helps monitor for important or novel stimuli Springer.
• Social Cognition: Plays a central role in theory of mind (understanding others’ beliefs, intentions, and perspectives) 
• Self–Other Distinction: Critical for differentiating between one’s own actions/thoughts and those of others multimodal Integration: Serves as a “melting pot” of neural activity, combining sensory and cognitive inputs

 Clinical Relevance

• Damage to TPJ: Linked to deficits in social cognition, empathy, and perspective-taking 
• Neuropsychology: Abnormal TPJ activity has been implicated in conditions like autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia, where self–other processing is disrupted 
• Right vs. Left TPJ: The right TPJ is often more involved in attention and social reasoning, while the left TPJ contributes to language-related processes.

 Why It Matters

The TPJ is sometimes described as a “cognitive crossroads” — much like a busy city square where multiple pathways converge.  Its role in integrating diverse information streams makes it essential for higher-level human cognition, especially in social interaction and awareness.

In short: The temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is a brain region at the intersection of the temporal and parietal lobes, crucial for attention, social cognition, and distinguishing self from others.

specific role in empathy and moral decision-making, since that’s one of the most fascinating aspects of TPJ research?

Sources:

In experiments with volunteers the TPJ was stimulated. Patient reported having an out of body experience.

Jinno’s study, this region was highly activated. Patients (who were dead) might have experience this out of body experience.

Which match up with reports of what people experience after having NDE experiences.

Neurosignatures?

Correlation? Objective v subjective reports.

Side door? Measuring both?

At University College London in the UK, neuroscientist Dr Christopher Timmermann is exploring similar states using psychedelics, pushing the boundaries between self and oblivion to identify what induces a near-death experience and what we can learn about our consciousness along the way. Near death experiences, a paranormal mystery or explainable phenomenon?

DMT

What is DMT?

• Chemical name: N,N-Dimethyltryptamine.
• Drug class: Serotonergic psychedelic (hallucinogen).
• Sources: Found in various plants (e.g., Psychotria viridis) and animals; also synthesized in labs.
• Traditional use: Indigenous cultures in South America have used DMT-containing brews like ayahuasca for centuries in spiritual and healing ceremonies Wikipedia WebMD.

Effects

• Onset & duration: Extremely fast-acting, with effects lasting only 5–30 minutes when smoked or vaporized.
• Experience: Users often report intense visual hallucinations, altered perception of time and space, feelings of unity, and sometimes encounters with “entities” or alternate realitie.
• Comparison: Similar in some ways to LSD or psilocybin, but much shorter and more intense.

 Risks & Safety

• Legal status: Classified as a Schedule I / Class A drug in many countries, meaning it is illegal to possess or use outside of approved research
• Risks: Can cause confusion, fear, or overwhelming experiences. Not physically addictive, but the intensity can be psychologically challenging.
• Ayahuasca: When combined with an MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor), DMT becomes orally active and produces longer-lasting effects (hours instead of minutes).

 Why It’s Notable

DMT has gained attention in both scientific and popular culture because of its unique ability to induce profound, short-lived psychedelic states. Researchers are exploring its potential therapeutic applications, but it remains highly restricted legally.

In short: DMT (not “DNT”) is a naturally occurring psychedelic known for its extremely intense but short-lived hallucinogenic effects, used traditionally in ayahuasca and studied today for its impact on consciousness.

Sources:

 Comparison of DMT, LSD, and Psilocybin

Feature	DMT	LSD	Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms)
Chemical Name	N,N-Dimethyltryptamine	Lysergic acid diethylamide	Psilocybin (converted to psilocin in body)
Duration	5–30 minutes (smoked/vaporized); 2–6 hours in ayahuasca	8–12 hours	4–6 hours
Onset	Seconds (smoked); 30–60 min (ayahuasca)	30–60 minutes	20–40 minutes
Intensity	Extremely intense, often described as “breakthrough” experiences	Strong, but more gradual and controllable	Moderate to strong, often more “organic” or nature-connected
Visuals	Vivid, geometric, otherworldly; often reports of “entities”	Bright colors, fractals, altered perception of time/space	Flowing, nature-inspired visuals, enhanced emotional connection
Cultural Use	Traditional use in ayahuasca ceremonies (Amazonian shamanism)	Popularized in 1960s counterculture, research in therapy	Ancient ritual use; modern therapeutic research
Legal Status	Schedule I/Class A (illegal in most countries)	Schedule I/Class A	Schedule I/Class A (though decriminalized in some regions)
Therapeutic Research	Potential for depression, PTSD, existential distress	Studied for anxiety, depression, addiction	Strong evidence for depression, anxiety, addiction treatment

 Key Takeaways

• DMT is unique for its short but overwhelming intensity — often described as a “rocket launch” into another reality.
• LSD is the longest-lasting psychedelic, making it more demanding in terms of time and setting.
• Psilocybin tends to be gentler and more nature-connected, with strong therapeutic promise in clinical trials.

 In short: DMT is the “fast and furious” psychedelic, LSD is the “marathon,” and psilocybin is the “middle ground” — each with distinct cultural histories and therapeutic potentials.

 

You find DMT in plant and mammals. Mammals produce small amounts. Ayahuasca, used by people for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. Immersive visions. Or seemingly meetings with sentient beings. In these experiences we recognised a striking similarity with NDE.

People who sign up for the DMT studies often report a changed outlook on the world.

A reorganisation of meaning. (‘under the hood’). It has to do with the ego, or self, becoming the soul. When you dissolve that (ego) there’s a reorganisation of meaning.

This is the ‘true self’. The wider thing I’m experiencing.

DMT v NDE = consciousness?

It teaches us the role the sense of self plays in consciousness.

Meaning making. What seems true and truthful, plays in our subjective experience of the world and our self.

It’s much easier to measure brain activity in someone taking DMT than those close to death (is it an apt comparison)?

We see with DMT that the typical filters of the brain, which keep thing tidy in our brain, what we call, alpha brain waves, they become dramatically reduced. So the filters go out.

And what we find with many filters going out, many areas of the brain become deregulated and start hyper-connecting with the rest of the brain.

The areas of the brain in which we find this most pronounced are areas of the brain that have evolved later. So there are areas of the brain that have to do with memory, with imagination. And have to do with learning.

You mentioned that we humans produce DMT. You any ideas what it is there for?

Speculation of the role of endogenous DMT. Some of it is that this spontaneous mystical experience people have, are caused by surges of endogenous DMT. But in reality, we don’t know.

Simple test. Measure DMT in blood of those having experiences? Measure brain activates with brain waves?

Probe levels of DMT with those dying and measure blood? Elevated suggests…? Not just overlap between DMT and NDE but DMT is the cause.

DMT = NDE.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CVBVVGD6