Abstract: Near-death studies published in major scientific journals during 1981-82 are grouped by subject matter and briefly reviewed.

Article using recent research to evaluate Raymond Moody's versus Ronald Siegel's interpretations of the near-death experience (NDE). Whereas Moody had concluded that the NDE is ontologically valid, Siegel interpreted the NDE as a purely subjective hallucinatory phenomenon.

Article describing a study to compare the frequency of psi experiences, psi-related experiences, mystical states, dream experiences, and demographic variables for (1) persons who had never come close to death, (2) persons who claimed to have had a close call with death but no intense experience, and (3) persons who indicated that they had had a near-death experience.

Abstract: "Some critics have argued that the near-death experience (NDE) is merely a culturally conditioned response to a life crisis, a reflection of expectations engendered by education, religious training, social mores, and family traditions. A review of seventeen accounts of NDEs in children, including two youngsters still in childhood, indicates that NDEs that occur at early ages appear to be substantially similar in content to adult experiences. These accounts suggest that cultural conditioning is not a primary determinant of NDE contents."

Partial Abstract: "This paper examines tunnel experiences, which have been discussed by Raymond Moody, Kenneth Ring, and Kevin Drab in the context of near-death experiences. It is argued that tunnel experiences, even when possibly triggered by psi cognition, are not always associated with near-death experiences or out-of-body experiences. A proposed definition of pseudo-hallucinations is adapted to possible psi-induced tunnel experiences." Six categories of tunnel experiences are outlined, a "transactional view of visual perception is accepted", and the hypothesis that the tunnel is a "subconsciously devised artifact for overcoming a spatial and/or temporal gap at the perceptual level" is proved true. This view is then compared with approaches from different writers on this topic. Additionally, a new solution for why tunnels are missing in cases of "clairvoyant travel" is given.

Abstract: This study reports the results of a multivariate analysis of data from 33 subjects who had near-death experiences. The analysis examined the relationship between the phenomenology of the experience and preexisting conditions. Five clusters were derived: Low Stress, Emotional Stress, Intoxicant, Cardiac Arrest, and Anesthetic. The heuristic value of these clusters is discussed. The statistical technique used is also discussed in some detail since it is particularly suitable for category data of this type where small numbers of subjects and large numbers of variables are involved in the analysis.

Article discussing Tibetan perspectives on near-death experiences and comparing accounts from ancient times with those in modern reports.

The author details a near-death experience which has caused him to find a new reality "replete with symbolic meanings that altered his view of life, death, and their intermediate cultural patterns." After his near-death experience (NDE), he faced NDE visions while unconscious and partially paralyzed for weeks, encountering "radiant knowledge and total love" and feeling no need to eat, drink or sleep. His visions have caused him to "abandon many typical cultural patterns." He replaces these patterns with "the recognition of the eternity granted by adherence to the present moment and of the remarkable worth and interest of everyone he encounters."

Article describing the author's near-death experience (NDE) in 1983 as a result of poisoning. Almost every feature of the experience has been antithetical to the author's prior background, both in childhood and in adult life, thereby providing evidence against reductionist explanations of NDE. An account is given of how the new consciousness is affected by various life-circumstances, and of its practical impact on the quality of living.

This article refutes Carl Sagan's theory that near-death experiences (NDEs) are recollections of birth experiences based on three major reasons including the inability of newborn babies to perceive experiences and that there are differences between births and NDEs.

From introduction: "Michael Grosso, in his elegant review of various hypotheses intended to explain near-death experiences as reductionistic and unable to account adequately for the NDE. The present paper is a restatement of the case for psychological interpretations of the NDE; it is intended to forestall the premature rejection of psychodynamic approaches to the study of NDEs."

Article discussing Osirian temple rites of ancient Egypt, which may have involved ceremonial procedures deliberately calculated to induce an experience that was functionally identical to modern near-death experiences.

Article proposing a nonreductionist interpretation of near-death experiences (NDEs), showing that it is possible to give credit to individual testimony while still taking into account the physiological, psychological, and cultural conditions that influence visionary experience in the face of death.

From introduction: "With the refinement of modern resuscitation procedures increasing numbers of people have 'died' and then returned to life. Many individuals report that during the time of clinical death extraordinary phenomena occur, which challenge accepted ideas of what happens when we die. A remarkable degree of correlation in these reports demands serious consideration. This paper will address pertinent questions raised by these reports."

Article that seeks to define out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and argues that both theoretical and empirical reasons prove that OBEs cannot provide evidence for survival of death.

Article describing a study that used the Life Attitude Profile (LAP) questionnaire to evaluate positive changes in life attitudes reported by near-death experiencers.

Abstract: "Ernest Bozzano was an Italian parapsychologist who published, in 1923, one of the most important historical studies on deathbed visions. The book, while influencing such scholars as Charles Richet and Sir William Barrett, remained largely forgotten and untranslated. This paper provides a translation of selections from Bozzano's monograph illustrating his unique classification of death visions."

From introduction: "One of the commonest reactions to the visionary experiences of heaven by the critical observer has been to argue that these are nothing more than the projections of the expectations of the dying person, who was either consciously or subconsciously trained to expect heavenly scenery (etc.) by his cultural upbringing. [...] This paper is a preliminary report on the status of NDEs in Pure Land Buddhism in China, and is an important contribution to cross-cultural research for several reasons" (pp. 154-155).

Abstract: "This paper argues that the out-of-body experience (OBE) and other elements of a near-death experience (NDE), as well as the positive affects that accompany them, do not yield conclusive evidence for survival after death. The OBE has features that suggest a physical basis for it, the other elements show the influence of cultural background, and positive affects may simply occur to conserve one's energy and prolong life. Other explanations for near-death elements, such as sensory deprivation, extrasensory perception, and eyeless sight, are addressed."

Paper analyzing near-death experiences that involve a "tunnel experience" (TE) as a specific aspect of the phenomena.

Abstract: "The texts of three near-death experiences, one vision, and one dream by Melanesian villagers are presented and analyzed with regard to their cultural context. Comparison of these experiences with those reported from North America and India suggests that while they have common features (such as the appearance of apparitions, and visions of paradise), their interpretation is structured by cultural expectations."

This paper discusses near-death experiences (NDEs) under the framework of the Jungian theory of archetypes. "NDEs are looked at as evidence for the activation of a unique archetype associated with rebirth experience, designated the archetype of death and enlightenment (ADE). The general function of the ADE is outlined, and evidence for the psychic manifestations of it is reviewed" (abstract).

This paper discusses "41 persons who were near death or clinically dead as the result of an accident, illness, or suicide attempt are presented. Respondents reported a total of 50 near-death experiences (NDEs) of which 33 were rated (using K. Ring's Weighted Core Experience Index) as having been deep, 10 as moderate, and 7 as non-experiences" (abstract).

This paper discusses the strong resemblance of near-death experiences (NDEs) to complex hallucinations associated with limbic lobe dysfunction. The paper presents the hypothesis that neurohormones with the capacity to influence hippocampal activity may also cause characteristics of NDE limbic lobe syndrome.