Abstract: Unusual occurrences at the end-of-life have been reported anecdotally over centuries yet have only recently attracted increased academic attention. Recent studies suggest commonality to end-of-life experiences (ELEs), which can be broadly categorized into six types. ELEs are relatively common, frequently occurring in terminally ill and palliative patients. They also reportedly have positive effects on the dying, facilitating more peaceful deaths. We present a case report of the death of a woman of Cook Island Maori and New Zealand Maori descent who died from cancer, as retrospectively reported by her husband. The case is interesting due to the number of ELEs occurring for the dying as well as significant others during the period leading up to, at the moment of, and after her death. The case is discussed in relation to previous findings on ELEs and resulting implications for enhancing understandings of the dying process and consciousness.

Partial abstract: In this article, we present a case study of an adult male who experienced both gravity induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) as a Korean War aviation cadet, including narrowing of his visual field to a point of light and also two subsequent transpersonal experiences -- a near-death experience (NDE) and an after-death communication (ADC) -- that both included a tunnel-and-light feature. His Near-Death Experience Scale scores for each experience and his comparison of the qualia of these experiences provide unique evidence in the debate about the nature and likely origins of such experiences. These data place more weight on the argument that the tunnel and light in transpersonal experiences cannot reasonably be attributed to loss of oxygen in the brain.

Abstract: Near-death experiences (NDEs) entail complex and structured conscious experience during conditions known to coincide with rapid loss of consciousness often associated with decline or disruption of the neurological correlates currently held to be causative factors of visual imagery and cognition. In this study, 653 NDE reports of cardiac and/or respiratory arrest patients were analyzed for unprompted, spontaneous references to quality of conscious visual imagery and mentation during an NDE. Results indicate that in a majority of NDEs, both figurative and abstract mentation are either preserved or markedly improved during unconsciousness and unresponsiveness in the context of respiratory and cardiac arrests. These findings underscore the call to further study the mechanisms behind the 'outliving' of a conscious sense of selfhood and complex, structured visual imagery and cognition during severely deteriorating physiological function -- and perhaps especially during clinical death.