A large study is to examine near-death experiences in heart attack patients. Doctors at 25 UK and US hospitals will study 1,500 survivors to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have ‘out of body’ experiences. Some people report seeing a tunnel or bright light, others recall looking down from the ceiling at medical staff. The study, due to take three years and co-ordinated by Southampton University, will include placing on shelves images that could only be seen from above. To test this, the researchers have set up special shelving in resuscitation areas. The shelves hold pictures – but they’re visible only from the ceiling. Dr Sam Parnia, who is heading the study, said: ‘If you can demonstrate that consciousness continues after the brain switches off, it allows for the possibility that the consciousness is a separate entity. ‘It is unlikely that we will find many cases where this happens, but we have to be open-minded. ‘And if no one sees the pictures, it shows these experiences are illusions or false memories. ‘This is a mystery that we can now subject to scientific study.’ Dr Parnia works as […]