Just before it ceases functioning, the brain may make a last-ditch effort to find unresolved purpose or a reason to stay ...

Near-death experiences are one of the most puzzling phenomena in psychology. A near-death experience is when a person appears to be clinically ‘dead’ for a short period—when their heart stops beating, ...

An ambitious effort to create a neurophysiological paradigm to explain near-death experiences has failed to capture many fascinating and often perplexing aspects of people's brushes with death, top ...

Those who study near-death experiences are occasionally confronted with cases that resist straightforward interpretation. The broader phenomenon is well established: Millions of people worldwide have ...

Ms. Grose is a Times Opinion writer and the author of a Times newsletter on culture, social change and the American family. Marzena Abrahamik is a photographer based in Chicago. Jan. 7, 2026 ...