{"id":283655,"date":"2026-01-14T09:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T09:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/283655\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T09:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T09:50:08","slug":"new-model-fails-to-explain-near-death-experiences-scientists-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/283655\/","title":{"rendered":"New Model Fails to Explain Near-Death Experiences, Scientists Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newswise \u2014 An ambitious effort to create a neurophysiological paradigm to explain\u00a0near-death experiences<\/strong>\u00a0has failed to capture many fascinating and often perplexing aspects of people\u2019s brushes with death, top University of Virginia experts argue in a new paper.<\/p>\n

UVA near-death researchers Bruce Greyson, MD, and Marieta Pehlivanova, PhD, laud the international team of scientists who developed the model, called Neurophysiological Evolutionary Psychological Theory Understanding Near-Death Experience, or NEPTUNE. The NEPTUNE team aimed to bring scientific rigor to understanding near-death experiences (NDEs) \u2013 a goal shared by Greyson and Pehlivanova. But the UVA experts say the model, for all its sophistication, leaves far too many unanswered questions to be considered a satisfactory solution to the mysteries of NDEs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NEPTUNE model was a pioneering attempt to explain NDEs, but it selectively ignored scientific evidence that contradicts the model and failed to address some of the most important and defining parts of NDEs,\u201d said Greyson, part of the Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA\u2019s School of Medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Understanding Near-Death Experiences<\/p>\n

In their new paper, Greyson and Pehlivanova outline many facets of NDEs that the NEPTUNE model \u2013 and neurophysiology more broadly \u2013 still cannot explain. For example, the NEPTUNE researchers argue that near-death \u201challucinations\u201d could be caused by changes in blood brain gases, endorphins or other chemical or electrical activity in the brain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Pehlivanova and Greyson note that neurological hallucinations typically only involve a single sense, such as hearing or sight. Those types of single-sense hallucinations do not align, the UVA researchers say, with the robust and often life-changing encounters near-death experiencers report having with loved ones or even with people they have never met. Experiencers can often recall what they saw, heard, smelled and touched while dead, and the encounters are often burned into their brains for decades \u2013 unlike hallucinations, which are quickly forgotten.<\/p>\n

The NEPTUNE group also advanced a potential explanation for the out-of-body experiences near-death experiencers sometimes report. In these instances, experiencers feel disconnected from their physical forms and sometimes recall looking down on their own bodies. The NEPTUNE scientists pointed to two studies suggesting that this may be the result of the activation of a particular region in the brain, the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). But Greyson and Pehlivanova counter that the experiences reported in those two studies are \u201cquite unlike\u201d the out-of-body experiences described in NDEs. During TPJ activation, there is a sense of disembodiment, but visual perception remains normal \u2013 experiencers don\u2019t see their own forms or feel like they can move about independent of their bodies as near-death experiencers do.<\/p>\n

Further, the UVA researchers note that electrical stimulation studies have already tested the TPJ theory. Stimulating the brain region produced visual hallucinations, but study participants did not believe they had left their bodies, Greyson and Pehlivanova write: \u201cThere is no evidence that electrical brain stimulation has ever produced accurate perception of anything not visible to the physical eyes, or that persists when eyes are closed, or that is from an out-of-body perspective \u2013 all features observed in spontaneous OBEs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeking Answers About NDEs<\/p>\n

While Pehlivanova and Greyson raise several additional concerns about the NEPTUNE model, they were eager to applaud its developers for their efforts. \u201cMartial et al have done a monumental job summarizing the major arguments in this field, relying on both theoretical and empirical contributions from the NDE literature and broader major research,\u201d they write. But they say a lack of empirical data and other flaws in the NEPTUNE model raise concerns that \u201ctemper our enthusiasm for the model and our confidence that it can provide a comprehensive explanation for NDEs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, neurophysiology still can\u2019t explain near-death experiences, Pehlivanova and Greyson say. But they are eager for the conversation to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cNDEs are typically triggered by physiological events, so it makes sense to explore those connections and look for cause-and-effect. But this effort is just at the beginning stage, and it is important to keep being open-minded as we continue the search,\u201d Greyson said. \u201cUnderstanding NDEs can unlock the door to larger questions about consciousness and the brain. We hope the quest to appreciate all aspects of NDEs will lead us not just to mapping the triggers of NDEs but also to their meaning and to a better understanding of the boundary between life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paper Published<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greyson and Pehlivanova have published their response in the scientific journal\u00a0Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research and Practice<\/a>. The article is open access, meaning it is free to read.<\/p>\n

About the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Established in 1967 under the leadership of UVA psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, MD, DOPS stands as the most productive university-based research group in the world dedicated to exploring phenomena that challenge conventional scientific paradigms concerning human consciousness. At the core of DOPS\u2019 research mission lies the commitment to rigorous evaluation of empirical evidence surrounding exceptional human experiences and capacities, including utilization of a state-of-the-art neuroimaging lab. DOPS extends its focus beyond fundamental empirical research and explores the profound implications of such research for scientific theory and society at large. By actively sharing insights and findings, DOPS strives to contribute meaningfully to the understanding of consciousness, bridging the gap between scientific inquiry and public awareness.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newswise \u2014 An ambitious effort to create a neurophysiological paradigm to explain\u00a0near-death experiences\u00a0has failed to capture many fascinating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[7260,3531,18,11293,19,17,47285,142608,941,9363,133,142609],"class_list":{"0":"post-283655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-all-journal-news","9":"tag-behavioral-science","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ethics-and-research-methods","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-neuro","15":"tag-neurophysiologyconsciousnesshallucinationsout-of-body-experiencestemporoparietal-junctionpsychology","16":"tag-newswise","17":"tag-psychology-and-psychiatry","18":"tag-science","19":"tag-university-of-virginia-division-of-perceptual-studies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115892835049862969","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}