Study exposes tricks of mind

NEAR-DEATH experiences are not paranormal but triggered by a change in normal brain function, according to researchers.

Psychologists who reviewed a range of phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, visions of tunnels of light or encounters with dead relatives, say they are tricks of the mind rather than a glimpse of the afterlife.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University say that most of the experiences can be explained by a reaction in the brain prompted by a traumatic, though sometimes harmless, event.