Serial/Series Title

Book Review: Moral development & reality: Beyond the theories of Kholberg, Hoffman, and Haidt (4th ed.) (open access)

Book Review: Moral development & reality: Beyond the theories of Kholberg, Hoffman, and Haidt (4th ed.)

Review of a book titled "Moral development & reality: Beyond the theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman and Haidt," written by John C. Gibbs, a professor of developmental psychology. This book explores theories of promoting prosocial behavior and morals in at-risk and delinquent youth, and addresses the theories of Jonathan Haidt, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Martin Hoffman regarding moral development.
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Wade, Jenny
Object Type: Review
System: The UNT Digital Library
Book Review: Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences: Brain-State Phenomena or Glimpses of Immortality? [#2] (open access)

Book Review: Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences: Brain-State Phenomena or Glimpses of Immortality? [#2]

Review of a book titled "Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences: Brain State Phenomena or Glimpses of Immortality" written by Michael N. Marsh. Marsh's book discusses out of body and near death experiences through a Christian perspective.
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Rivas, Titus
Object Type: Review
System: The UNT Digital Library
Editor's Foreword [Spring 2020] (open access)

Editor's Foreword [Spring 2020]

Editorial statement introducing the contents of the journal issue and providing other relevant notes. This issue includes articles that examine empirical data related to near-death experiences.
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Holden, Janice Miner
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Letter to the Editor: Comment on Raymond Moody's Interpretation of Past-Life Memories (open access)

Letter to the Editor: Comment on Raymond Moody's Interpretation of Past-Life Memories

Letter written to the editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies discussing Raymond Moody's book, "Coming Back: A Psychiatrist Explores Past-Life Journeys."
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Gibbs, John C.
Object Type: Letter
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Mystical Experience and Its Neural Correlates (open access)

The Mystical Experience and Its Neural Correlates

Abstract: Despite their different etiologies, three types of spiritually transformative experiences (STEs)--near-death experiences, psilocybin experiences, and meditative experiences of cosmic consciousness--appear to have attributes that are common to a broad range of mystical experiences, including an experience of expanded awareness. In addition, all three appear to be associated with profound and lasting transformations in the lives of experiencers. Finally, these three experiences appear to share some common neural correlates. In this article, we discuss similarities in case studies of these STEs, in data from controlled clinical research studies on their transformative effects, as well as from neurophysiological data correlated with the occurrence of STEs themselves. In all three STEs, research shows a reduction in neural activity in the major centers of the brain, including the Default Mode Network, the foundation of egoic stories involving the narrative related to oneself and the world in which one lives. It is proposed that during these STEs, reduced neural activity in areas of the brain that normally act as a filter or reducing valve mechanism opens the capacity to expanded awareness, which is associated with lasting transformation in the lives of experiencers.
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Woollacott, Marjorie & Shumway-Cook, Anne
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Significance of Autoscopies as a Time Marker for the Occurrence of Near-Death Experiences (open access)

The Significance of Autoscopies as a Time Marker for the Occurrence of Near-Death Experiences

Abstract: The physiological and psychological underpinnings of near-death experiences (NDEs) are not yet understood. In this article, we show that for "critical" NDEs reported after cardiac arrest, two different neurophysiological models have been proposed that, in the literature so far, have not been adequately distinguished from each other. In the real-time model, it is postulated that during critical NDEs, residual activities in the cerebrum were sufficient to generate NDEs in real time. In the reconstruction model, it is assumed that due to severe oxygen deficiency, critical NDEs could not have occurred at the time in question but were reconstructed later during the regeneration phase of the brain. To assess the plausibility of these two models, we analyzed the phenomenology of the view of one's own body from above (autoscopy) that frequently occurs in the beginnings of NDEs. In addition to the available literature, we used original descriptions of autoscopies obtained in an online survey conducted in 2015. We found that the reconstruction model is not supported by empirical findings and that some findings even speak against it. We therefore conclude that future discussions of explanatory models of NDEs should focus primarily on the neurophysiological real-time model and a third alternative …
Date: Spring 2020
Creator: Nahm, Michael & Weibel, Adrian
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library