This article speculates that anesthetics can influence the kind of NDE that someone has, and cause a potentially life-long negative view about life after the NDE occurs.

"Comatose subjects experience pleasant unaroused affects such as tranquility, serenity, peacefulness, and relaxation, more frequently and more intensely than they experience aroused feelings or differentiated emotions. I suggest that consciousness is not disconnected by coma, but rather is potentiated following complete blockage of the brain's information channels" (abstract).

This paper proposes that "based upon very repeatable computer simulations of dying neural networks, the phenomena of both near-death experiences (NDEs) and a virtual afterlife are plausible and can be expected to occur in traumatized neurobiological systems" (abstract). The author then speculates three societal implications based on this conclusion.

"Children who brush death, nearly die, or who are pronounced clinically dead but later revive have a much higher incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs) than do adults. Although excellent research now exists on children's cases, there have been discrepancies. I suggest that we need to broaden the range of observations on children's NDEs and reconsider what is known about children and the near-death phenomenon" (abstract).

Abstract: I pose four questions for the "dying brain hypothesis" as propounded by Susan Blackmore in her book Dying to Live (1993). The first calls into question Blackmore's reductionist explanation of the "bird's-eye view" for a near-death experience (NDE) and asks why out-of-body perception from a supine position is not reported, given her theory. The second inquires as to how the materialist view explains NDErs' feelings of unconditional love, while the third ponders whether the variance among NDEs noted by Blackmore is not more consistent with the "afterlife hypothesis" than with the "dying brain hypothesis." The final question queries whether neural disinhibition, described by Blackmore, might be a possible release mechanism for an NDE. I suggest that these four questions pose a challenge to the "dying brain hypothesis."

Article reporting the preliminary finding of overwhelming psychological benefit of hypnotic recall of near-death experiences, and discussing implications for future research.

Article presenting various interpretative frameworks for painful near-death experiences (NDEs).

Article examining long-range data and finding trend reversals in 1987-88: increases in religiosity, service, and United Nations peacekeeping efforts, and decreases in chlorofluorocarbon production, nuclear warhead stockpiles, arms exports, and interest in economic well-being.

Abstract: Kenneth Ring and Nancy Evans Bush both wrote papers concerning frightening near-death experiences (NDEs) in the Fall 1994 issue of this Journal. The results of my own research are more supportive of Bush's position than they are of Ring's. This paper gives some of the reasons why and illustrates other data accumulated by me concerning frightening NDEs.

Article reporting an experience in the course of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) that was indistinguishable from a near-death experience (NDE). Aspects of the experience that had been terrifying for the individual were counterbalanced by her immediate and complete recovery from a suicidal depression. Beyond the transpersonal aspects of her NDE-like experience, the ECT triggered a precognitive vision that materialized two years later.

Article discussing the phylogenetic basis of states of consciousness, and presenting the central theses of monism and dualism, in which near-death experiences (NDEs) enjoy very different ontological statuses.

Study suggesting that in order to explain the phenomenology of perinatal experience, as described in the work of Stanislav Grof, we must hypothesize that the patient in these instances has expanded beyond the individual subject.

Abstract: Recent articles have addressed the question of whether or not the out-of-body experience reported by many people near death is a form of dissociative behavior. If so, is it related to other mental or emotional pathologies or is it a normal protective response to stress? This paper explores the history of dissociation and related terms, uncovering a multiplicity of uses and connotations. New orientations in physics and the rise of the New Science in the form of Chaos Theory allow a plethora of additional interpretations.

Abstract: An Italian translation of Greyson's (1983a) NDE Scale was administered to 125 individuals who had been resuscitated at a hospital in Italy. By NDE Scale criteria 37.5 percent of those who returned the questionnaire had authentic NDEs. These data suggest some limitations to Grayson's NDE Scale and recommendations for future research.

Article examining the events of Homer's Odyssey chronologically, identifying and analyzing specific instances where Homer's imagery suggests such a multifaceted relationship. In accounting for this relationship, the article introduces a psychospiritual evolutionary theory of symbolism and inspiration based upon the higher dimensional existence of the supernatural.