In another thread (https://psiencequest.net/forums/thread-michael-nahm), I had occasion to review Michael Nahm's excellent runner-up prize winning essay in the Bigelow contest, and discovered an obscure veridical NDE case that seems unique.
It turns out that for at least one veridical NDE there is actual documented experimental clinical research fMRI data clearly showing that the brain can be completely dysfunctional and inactive during prolonged coma, while during the same time period the patient still was conscious and experienced full recall of events that occurred around his body. This seems to close to proving that for this period of time the patient's consciousness could not have been generated by his physical brain, but that it must have existed somehow separate and independent of his brain. The only rebuttal from materialist neuroscience could be the claim that there somehow was the massive amounts of coordinated activity supposedly needed for consciousness going on somewhere else in the patient's brain even during this vegetative coma-like state, activity somehow not showing up in the deep fMRI scans. Neurological activity level is exactly what the fMRI scans are designed to detect. This excuse is not plausible at all. Of course the materialist could also as a last resort claim fraud on the part of the researcher.
I think AWARE II also accumulated a few cases a little like this, except the data was from EEG recordings, and more able to be challenged.
From https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/wp-cont...idence.pdf, pg. 16:
(Derived from Owen A (2017), Into the Gray Zone. A Neuroscientist Explores the Border between Life and Death. Scribner, New York, NY.)
(This post was last modified: 2023-12-28, 12:01 AM by nbtruthman. Edited 1 time in total.)
It turns out that for at least one veridical NDE there is actual documented experimental clinical research fMRI data clearly showing that the brain can be completely dysfunctional and inactive during prolonged coma, while during the same time period the patient still was conscious and experienced full recall of events that occurred around his body. This seems to close to proving that for this period of time the patient's consciousness could not have been generated by his physical brain, but that it must have existed somehow separate and independent of his brain. The only rebuttal from materialist neuroscience could be the claim that there somehow was the massive amounts of coordinated activity supposedly needed for consciousness going on somewhere else in the patient's brain even during this vegetative coma-like state, activity somehow not showing up in the deep fMRI scans. Neurological activity level is exactly what the fMRI scans are designed to detect. This excuse is not plausible at all. Of course the materialist could also as a last resort claim fraud on the part of the researcher.
I think AWARE II also accumulated a few cases a little like this, except the data was from EEG recordings, and more able to be challenged.
From https://www.bigelowinstitute.org/wp-cont...idence.pdf, pg. 16:
Quote:"In a book introducing his work with developing modes of communication with nonresponsive patients in vegetative states, neuropsychologist Adrian Owen described what happened to one of his patients, Juan. In order to gain detailed insights into the activity of the brain in nonresponsive patients, including its deeper layers, Owen used fMRI scanners. These highly sophisticated apparatuses enable physicians to evaluate whether there might be a conscious individual inside a nonresponsive body. In Juan’s case, repeated scans showed practically no sign of conscious awareness. The characteristic patterns of activity in brain regions signaling awareness in response to applied stimuli were almost completely absent although his eyes were open. Consequently, he was regarded entirely unconscious. Weeks later, however, Juan awoke from his coma. To the amazement of Owen, Juan had a full recall of his two visits to Owen’s laboratory. He was able to describe everything that happened correctly and remembered the physicians involved."
(Derived from Owen A (2017), Into the Gray Zone. A Neuroscientist Explores the Border between Life and Death. Scribner, New York, NY.)
Quote:"Juan’s case is exceptional in that it is the only case of which I am aware in which a person’s brain was monitored deep down into its depths and showed no sign of awareness—but the patient nonetheless remembered everything. Owen had no explanation for these occurrences. Such cases highlight that, at present, neurophysiological models cannot account for conscious awareness during apparent states of unconsciousness such as in critical NDEs or Juan’s evident coma."
![[-]](https://psiencequest.net/forums/images/collapse.png)