The study, by Slovenian researchers, examined 52 heart attack patients in three large hospitals. Of those, 11 reported having near-death experiences (NDEs), such as movement toward a bright light, feelings of peace and joy, and profoundly spiritual moments during their heart attacks. Studies suggest that between 10 percent and 25 percent of heart attack survivors report NDEs.

Exactly why has remained a mystery, but the new study provides a clue. The link between oxygen deprivation in the brain and near-death experiencehas been suggested for many years. British researcher Dr. Susan Blackmore, author of “Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences” (Prometheus Books, 1993), notes that many NDEs (such as euphoria and the feeling of moving toward a white light) are in fact typical symptoms of oxygen deprivation.

Heart attacks occur when the supply of blood is blocked from the heart. The heart stops circulating blood, and as a result the brain is deprived of oxygen while carbon dioxide increases. Carbon dioxide is toxic in high concentrations, starting at about 1 percent of the inhaled air (10,000 parts per million). For comparison, the gas occurs naturally in a concentration of about 0.039 percent of the atmosphere, though it varies according to altitude, season, and other factors.

What’s interesting about this piece is a) it is written by the “managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer science magazine (who isn’t likely to promote any theories other than purely materialist ones) b) the piece itself doesn’t say anything about the CO2 levels found in the study c) the study looks only at heart attack victims and 4) since when is a sampling of 52 individuals sufficient to derive anything like a significant conclusion about something like this?

Yes…oxygen deprivation can cause sensory effects similar to NDE’s. We knew that. The very fact that we can replicate experiences through manipulation of blood-ox saturation only means we are simulating something else….otherwise (here it comes) why don’t ALL victims of blood- ox deprivation experience NDE’s ?

**Update….Prescott cites a couple of apparently conflicting views on the subject, quoted (reliably, by Mr Prescott) at great length,