'Spiritual Doorway in the Brain': The science of near-death experiences

Do animals have them, too? Why the white light? Can you really "return" from the dead? An expert explains

By Katherine Don
Salon.com

We've all heard about the bright white light at the end of the tunnel, but what's really going on in a "near-death experience"? That's what neurologist and medical doctor Kevin Nelson tries to uncover in his first book, "The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist's Search for the God Experience."

Dr. Nelson is one of the world's leading researchers in the biology of near-death and other mystical experiences, and his fascinating book takes the reader from investigations of MRI studies of the brain to historical anecdotes and philosophical inquiry. Three decades of research led Dr. Nelson to a unique and unexpected conclusion about near-death experiences -- rather than arising from parts of the brain that are unique to higher cognitive functions, they actually involve the oldest, most primitive parts of our brain, and might also relate to having dreams while still awake.

What happens near death, and what does it have to do with God? To find out, Salon spoke on the phone with Dr. Nelson from the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.

First things first: What's the deal with the tunnel and the light?

(More here.)