Study into near-death experiences

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   This will be an interesting study. It's long been a mystery, the experience of many near death, some claiming to follow a tunnel of light toward their dead relatives. It’s been explained as everything from a life after death experience to the effects of the brains lack of oxygen.

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. 

 This is a mystery that we can now subject to scientific study 

Dr Sam Parnia
University of Southampton

Towards the light

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.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7621608.stm