Journal of Consciousness Studies

Brain Damage and the PCE

Charles T. Tart, Psychology, University of California, Davis

Charlie Tart has drawn our attention to at least one case of a person acquiring permanent "cosmic consciousness" as a result of the destruction of part of the brain in a near-death experience.

This is the case of John Wren-Lewis, retired chemist/physicist, who described some features of his case in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology several years ago and will soon have a book on the subject finished. I have spent several weeks with him. He did have a NDE following which his experience of self has permanently changed in a way that sound like an important aspect of what the enlightenment traditions are aiming for. But any "brain damage" is pure supposition. He functions perfectly normally and shows no ordinary signs associated with brain damage. So to "explain" his change by reference to brain damage is to demonstrate commitment to a particular theoretial paradigm with no evidence to support this case.

Charles T. Tart
e-mail: cttart@ucdavis.edu

Keith Sutherland

OK, I plead guilty and thanks for pointing it out. So let me rephrase original question (what is the NC (Crick) of the PCE (Forman)?). My "theoretical paradigm" here is unashamedly physicalist -- any change of consciousness must reflect an underlying change in the brain.

There has been much discussion of the neurophysiology of the NDE, with Susan Blackmore and others pointing out that the experiences can be explained in terms of the biochemistry of a brain being deprived of oxygen. Whether this is a sufficient explanation is an open question, and is not my concern here. People returning from the NDE tend to report a change in attitude/lifestyle which is normally explained in terms of the experiences they have undergone and their interpretation of them.

What is interesting in the case of Wren-Lewis (at least as I remember Charlie reporting it) was that the NDE (which was caused by spiked fudge or something) seemed to result in a permanent change of *consciousness* (rather than attitude/lifestyle) which appeared to be very similar to the "enlightenment" state as reported in the literature.

Again (within my physicalist paradigm), this reflects a change in brain functioning, rather than a more superficial attitude/lifestyle explanation. I accept that this is unwarranted speculation, but:

• Who can come up with a better explanation? Remember the guy was zonked out unconscious by this stuff, so it can have hardly been an exercise in "mindfulness" training.
• What are the likely changes in brain function? Bear in mind we are talking about something very specific and permanent, so vaguaries about EEG synchrony and this or that neurotransmitter doesn't really cut it. One of the characteristics of the enlightenment state (as I understand it) is awareness maintained throughout the sleep cycle -- is this part of Wren-Lewis's experience?

Given the time that some of us devote to spiritual practice, what's the recipe for the dodgy fudge?

No doubt Charlie will jump on me if I've got this all wrong again! If Wren-Lewis is a retired chemist, what are his views on it?

PS -- My use of the term "physicalist" has no implications regarding the ontology of consciousness, and just refers to the (obvious?) fact that the quality of our conscious experience is mediated by the brain. --

Keith Sutherland
keith@imprint.co.uk